Ethermac Exchange-Gyspy Rose Blanchard Reveals Kidnapping Survivor Elizabeth Smart Slid Into Her DMs

In the days since her release from prison,Ethermac Exchange Gypsy Rose Blanchard has checked off all the key milestones for the digital age. 

She snapped her "first selfie of freedom" the day after she walked out of Missouri's Chillicothe Correctional Center Dec. 28, launched her TikTok account, showed off her #OOTO and did a little bragging about her 18-month marriage to middle school special education teacher Ryan Anderson. 

Next up: Wading through her direct messages. 

"My schedule has been pretty busy, so I haven't had a chance to check all my DMs or anything," she explained in an exclusive interview with E! News' Francesca Amiker. "But I actually did check one."

Because the missive from kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart certainly caught her eye. 

Having served as an advocate for other survivors of trauma since she was abducted from her childhood bedroom in 2002, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation founder "told me that she had been wanting to reach out for a long time and she feels like my story can help a lot of people," Blanchard explained. "And if I ever needed to talk to her, she would be more than happy to chat with me, which is very, very sweet."

Naturally, the 32-year-old wasted little time responding. 

"I told her how much of an inspiration she is to me," Gypsy detailed. "So that's been pretty amazing."

Because as much as the Louisiana native has enjoyed spending unfettered time with her husband, seeing family and friends and even testing out a little VR ("I got to try an Oculus for the first time. And I'm like, 'Wow, I'm in Ready Player One right now'") she has even bigger plans for the future.  

Though she appreciates that others are celebrating her release from prison, after she served seven years for her role in the 2015 death of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, "I just hope that with all this attention, that it's worth something," she explained. "It's wonderful that I'm free. But now that I am free, I'm kind of moving out of the hype of the freedom of it all and I'm starting to really, really try and move into advocacy work. So I'm like, 'Okay, guys, I'm happy that you're happy that I'm out. But now let's talk about things that I want to talk about.'"

She intends to have her voice heard with the Jan. 9 drop of her ebook Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom and Lifetime's six-part docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which premiered Jan. 5.

"I'm just trying to not lose sight of the bigger picture of what I want to put out there," she noted, "and that's just to be a voice for the voiceless, for people that have gone through abusive situations like I was in, and give them a little bit of a guiding light."

Because, yes, she wishes she could undo the events of 2015. 

Gypsy and her ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were arrested for Dee Dee's murder after the 48-year-old's body was found at her Springfield, Mo., home. During Nicholas' trial, Gypsy testified that Dee Dee forced her to undergo unnecessary medical treatments and that her mother controlled and abused her physically. 

And though her struggle as a victim of Munchausen by proxy involved enduring painful treatments and—at her lowest point—allegedly being chained to a bed for two weeks, "I would definitely do things differently," Gypsy told E!. "I wish that I could." 

What she can do, she continued, is to impress upon others undergoing similar trauma, "that the things that I did, the steps that I took to get out of my situation was the wrong example. But I can't go back, I can't change it. So that all that I can do now is pick the pieces of my life back together and make myself a better person than I was when I went to prison. And just try to do some good in the world."

That very well might involve Elizabeth Smart who, among other advocacy work, served as a producer and narrator for the 2017 Lifetime movie I Am Elizabeth Smart. 

"I'd love that," Gypsy said of the possibility of pairing with Elizabeth for an upcoming project. "That would be pretty cool." 

Add that to the increasingly lengthy post-prison bucket list that ranges "from the simple stuff, to shopping at the mall to traveling," shared Gypsy. "I really want to see the world. And I know that it's going to take some time. But all of that stuff is definitely on my bucket list: Just living life and enjoying what the world has to offer."

She's already gotten quite the head start. Keep reading to Gypsy has been up to in the days since she left prison. 

Gypsy and her husband Ryan Anderson walk their first red carpet at the premiere of her Lifetime docuseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

Gypsy and her husband kiss on the red carpet at the premiere.

After being released from prison on Dec. 28, Gypsy Rose Blanchard snapped her first Instagram selfie.

Gypsy reunited with her sister Mia Blanchard amid her new chapter.

"A New Years Eve Eve kiss with my hubby."

Gypsy also ended 2023 with an Instagram selfie.

Gypsy and husband Ryan Anderson shared a glimpse into their new era together.