Gypsy-Rose Blanchard Reveals ‘Biggest Lesson’ She’s Learnt Since Prison Release: ‘Take Your Time’

Blanchard was released from prison in December 2023 after serving eight years of her 10-year sentence

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is experiencing many things for the first time following her release from prison four months ago.

While speaking about her Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard documentary series on the An Evening with Lifetime: Conversations On Controversies FYC event panel on Wednesday, May 1, Blanchard, 32, discussed the "biggest lesson" that she's learned during this major life transition.

"I think the biggest lesson that I've learned is take your time," she told the panel, which was moderated by PEOPLE's Janine Rubenstein. "Because I think too often, I get also excited about my newfound freedom, and so I think I rush to do things, I want to cram it all in, so I'm just learning to take my time."

Blanchard said she thinks she's "doing very well," but noted, "These last four months has been met with challenges and ups and downs."

"But that's life, right? So I'm just enjoying it," the famed Munchausen by proxy victim added at the event, which was held at The Grove in Los Angeles.

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Set to Be Freed From Prison, Regrets Murdering Mother: 'She Didn’t Deserve That' (Exclusive)

Discussing some of the firsts she'd experienced since being released from prison, Blanchard said, "I got to go to the beach for the first time [today], and that was really exciting. I walked around The Grove, went to Sephora for the first time, so this has just definitely been a wonderful day for me."

Admitting "every little tiny thing is big to me," in terms of her post-prison experiences, Blanchard shared, "It's so much ... just eating at Taco Bell for the first time ... it's hard to pinpoint just one."

During the interview, executive producer Melissa Moore pointed out that things like buying a refrigerator that has an ice maker in it has been a big deal to Blanchard.

"She's like, 'I'm going to take a picture by it. Do you think that'd be bragging?' I'm like, 'No, Gypsy, that'll be okay.' And then it just got me thinking. I'm like, 'Oh, we have an ice maker,' " Moore said, reflecting on the "gift" Blanchard has given her to "not take for granted the simple things."

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Has a New Memoir Coming Out: See the Cover! (Exclusive)

Moore also commented on Blanchard going to Santa Monica and swimming in the ocean for the first time, adding, "When I saw her free for the first time in New York, I asked her about the shower because I remember the prison showers and just her not being able to control the temperature, and she was so blown away you can control the temperature of your shower."

"Her experiencing freedom shows me to appreciate the luxuries, the simple things in life. And that's what I take away," she continued, adding that she hopes others take that away from the documentary as well.

It's been a whirlwind few months for Blanchard, who announced she'd separated from her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, in March. It was then reported late last month that the 32-year-old was back together with her ex-fiancé Ken Urker.

"After reconnecting earlier this month, we realized that our love for each other is simply undeniable, and life is too short to not take a chance," Blanchard told TMZ.

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She was released from prison in December 2023 after serving eight years of her 10-year prison sentence for conspiring to murder her mother, 48-year-old Dee Dee Blanchard, with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas “Nick” Godejohn. Dee Dee was stabbed to death by Godejohn in her Springfield, Mo., home on June 9, 2015, as Gypsy-Rose waited in the bathroom.

Dee Dee had subjected her daughter to years of unnecessary medical procedures and convinced her and others that she had a series of illnesses. It was argued in court and is widely believed that Gypsy-Rose was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare form of abuse in which a guardian exaggerates or induces illness in a child for sympathy and attention.

Following her release from prisob, Gypsy-Rose told PEOPLE she believes her mom was struggling with an untreated mental illness.

“In hindsight I really wish someone could have seen the signs and helped her,” she said. “Helping her would have helped me.”

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