GYPSY ROSE BLANCHARD CONFIRMS FIANCÉ KEN URKER'S DEATH

Gypsy Rose Blanchard has confirmed the death of her fiancé, Ken Urker, who is the father of her young daughter. Urker died on Thursday at his home in Louisiana; one report said he was 33, while another said he died on his 34th birthday. Blanchard said Urker died from an apparent overdose, telling one outlet, "I don't know if it was intentional or not." She added that he "was not in a good state of mind lately." The circumstances of his death have not yet been confirmed by police.

Blanchard and Urker's relationship began as an exchange of letters while she was serving a prison sentence connected to her mother's death in 2015. The couple's daughter, Aurora, is one year old. Blanchard described Urker as "an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved," calling him "my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase." She said Aurora was "a beautiful reflection of his enduring spirit" and said she would make sure their daughter grows up knowing how much her father loved her, "beyond what strangers on the internet chose to say about him."

Blanchard said Urker had faced "an unimaginable level of public scrutiny and relentless cyberbullying" over their relationship. She said he had endured this harassment from strangers online in the period before his death. Urker's death came on the day he would have marked his birthday, according to one account. Further details of the circumstances surrounding his death have not yet been made public.