ICYMI: The Act is a scripted series based on the real-life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mom, Dee Dee Blanchard. Dee Dee had a condition called factitious disorder imposed on another (formerly and more commonly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy ), which causes people to pretend that someone in their care, like a child or elderly parent, is ill, in order to get sympathy and attention.
Gypsy suffered years of abuse from her mother unknowingly: She was forced to have unnecessary surgeries, take medication that actually caused health problems for her, and use a wheelchair and feeding tube that she didnt really need. Eventually, Gypsy figured out that her mother was lying about her health, abilities and age . She sought out and met a boyfriend online, who later helped her murder Dee Dee so she could escape.
Currently, Gypsy is serving a 10-year sentence in a Missouri prison for the murder of Dee Dee.
Wait-is Scott the boyfriend who killed Dee Dee?
Despite what it might sound like, Scott from episode three is not the boyfriend who helps Gypsy murder Dee Dee. Thats Nick Godejohn, who Gypsy later met on ChristianSingles.com, and whos serving life without parole for stabbing Dee Dee to death. But Scott did play a critical role in Gypsys life and her comfort level around men.
Because Gypsy was lied to about her age and constantly monitored by Dee Dee, she didnt get to have the typical teenage-girl experience of meeting boys her age and dating. But in The Act, shes clearly interested in doing that. And in episode three, she gets her chance when Dee Dee allows her to attend a local comic book convention, where she dresses in Cinderella cosplay . Dee Dee of course comes with her, but is distracted by a suitor of her own, which gives Gypsy the chance to slip away and meet a man dressed as Wolverine from X-Men.
They hit it off, and in the little time they have, Gypsy constructs a fantasy of how theyll be together forever. Dee Dee finds her and pulls her away, but they agree to connect on Facebook. Gypsy later gets a secret prepaid cell phone, and starts a sort of pen-pal relationship. But it becomes more when Gypsy goes to visit Scott when hes in the emergency room after a bar fight. This is the first time he sees Gypsy out of her wheelchair, and dressed her age. He takes her back to his place, where they kiss, and are disrupted by Dee Dee, who figures out Gypsys whereabouts.
At one point in episode three, we see a flash forward to 2015, when Dee Dee was murdered, and her neighbors speculate about who could have done it. Shelley remembers the night Dee Dee was upset about Gypsy being with Scott, and Scott instantly becomes a suspect in the case for anyone who doesnt know the backstory of the Blanchards .
Was Scott based on a real person?
The character Scott is loosely based on a real relationship the actual Gypsy Rose had. According to the BuzzFeed article the show is based on, Gypsy left a scif-fi convention with a man she met there (though they had apparently been talking online before that), and they went back to his hotel room. Dee Dee showed up and shut the whole relationship down, showing the man papers that said Gypsy was underage, which were false. She was 19 at the time.
Clearly, Gypsy was interested in having a relationship, but that was yet another thing Dee Dee withheld from her. Her relationship with Godejohn was largely kept a secret, even from her closest friends, so that she could maintain it without Dee Dee finding out.
The next two episodes of The Act will drop on Hulu next Wednesday at 3 a.m.