The on-off fiancé of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard has died at the age of 34.
Urker was discovered unresponsive at home in Louisiana on Thursday, October 1, the same day that he was celebrating his birthday, TMZ reported. His cause of death remains unknown.
Blanchard had reportedly texted Urker ‘Happy Birthday’ that same day, but she never received a response.
Blanchard’s relationship with Urker began during her seven year prison sentence for her part in the murder of her abusive mother, Claudine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard.
During this time she started corresponding with Urker and he proposed in 2018 only for them to split months later. Blanchard was released in December 2022 after being granted early parole and in 2024 reunited with Urker.
In a statement provided to the outlet later on Thursday, Blanchard claimed Urker, with whom she shares a one-year-old daughter, was ‘relentlessly cyberbullied’ before his untimely passing.
‘Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved,’ she began, adding that Urker would ‘forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase.’
Ken Urker, the on–off fiancé of convicted murderer Gypsy Rose Blanchard, has died at the age of 34. Urker was discovered unresponsive at home in Louisiana, TMZ reported
According to People, Blanchard’s brother Dylan found Urker when he and his wife went to his home before going out to dinner to celebrate his 34th birthday on Thursday. Urker and Blanchard shared a 21-month-old daughter that they welcomed in December 2024
Blanchard said that her on–off fiancé went through an ‘unimaginable level of public scrutiny’ while being with her and that the ‘cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure.’
She noted that the online harassment had a ‘profound impact’ on Urker.
Regarding their infant daughter Aurora, Blanchard vowed to ‘make sure she grows up knowing how deeply her father loved her.’
Blanchard said that she would also ensure her daughter knew ‘who [Urker] was beyond what strangers on the internet chose to say about him.’
In a statement to TMZ, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said: ‘We responded to a residence in Raceland today after receiving a call at 6.15pm. Kenan Urker, 34, was found dead upon arrival. At this time, we are continuing the death investigation.’
Family sources told the publication that Urker was discovered at home by Blanchard’s brother, Dylan.
According to People, Dylan and his wife had planned to go out to dinner with Urker before they arrived at his home.
They added that the tragic news had left both Blanchard and Urker’s families in shock.
Urker’s sister, Autumn, reportedly confirmed his death on Thursday night after going live on TikTok.
She said her brother’s last words to her had been, ‘I love you.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Blanchard’s representatives and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office for comment.
In a statement provided to TMZ, Blanchard claimed Urker was ‘relentlessly cyberbullied’ before his untimely passing
Blanchard was a victim as a child of Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, after her mother Dee Dee (above) forced her to pose as an invalid by remaining in a wheelchair. Dee Dee kept Gypsy-Rose drugged to convince the world that her daughter had muscular dystrophy and leukemia
Their warped relationship came to an end in 2015, when Gypsy-Rose’s boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn (L), crept into their home in Springfield, Missouri, and stabbed Dee Dee, 48, to death. Blanchard (R) pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent nearly 10 years in prison
The former couple shared a 21-month-old daughter, Aurora Raina Urker, whom they welcomed on December 28, 2024.
Her birth coincided with the one-year anniversary of Blanchard’s release from prison after she served seven years behind bars for her part in the murder of her abusive mother, Claudine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard.
Blanchard and Urker had an on–off relationship as they got engaged in October 2018 while she was incarcerated, only for them to split months later, before reuniting in August 2019.
After they separated again for several years, she went on to tie the knot with another man, Ryan Scott Anderson, in July 2022, while she was still serving time for killing her mother.
In March 2024, three months after her release, Blanchard announced that she and Anderson had separated, and in April of that year, she and Urker reconciled.
Blanchard was a victim as a child of Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, after her mother Dee Dee forced her to pose as an invalid by remaining in a wheelchair at all times in public.
Dee Dee shaved Gypsy-Rose’s head and kept her drugged to convince the world that her daughter had muscular dystrophy and was battling leukemia.
But their warped relationship came to an end in 2015, when Gypsy-Rose’s boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, crept into their home in Springfield, Missouri, and stabbed Dee Dee to death. She was 48.
After announcing her split from her husband, Ryan Anderson, in March 2024, Blanchard and Urker reunited the following month. She revealed in July of that year that they were expecting a child
Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent nearly 10 years in prison before being released in December 2022 after being granted an early parole.
While in prison, she bonded with Urker after he sent her a letter, and they started corresponding.
Things soon turned romantic, and he went on to propose in 2018.
But after the Hulu miniseries The Act – which starred Joey King as Gypsy and Patricia Arquette as her mother – premiered a few months later and put an intense spotlight on Gypsy’s story, she admitted in her memoir that Ken couldn’t handle the sudden wave of attention.
After announcing her split from her husband, Ryan Anderson, in March 2024, Blanchard revealed in July of that year that she and her reunited fiancé Urker were expecting a child.
Following their reunion, Urker looked back on how they reconnected while speaking to People.
‘The very first weekend of April [2024] is when I came to visit her for the first time after she had gotten out. We spent that weekend together and had an incredible time,’ he said.
Their renewed connection was strong enough that they made plans to meet again a month later to attend a jazz festival together.
‘Then shortly after that, we realized we were going to have a baby,’ Urker added.