In a true crime connection worthy of reality TV, it turns out Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Vanderpump Rules alum Stassi Schroeder share a bloodline dating back to the 1600s.
Genealogist Dr. Adina Newman, who studies and traces reality TV star’s family trees and shares her findings on her Instagram, revealed a distant relationship between the former Bravo star, 35, and Blanchard, who was released from prison on Dec. 28 after serving eight years of her sentence.
Newman shared her findings in an Instagram post on Sunday, deeming Schroeder and Blanchard are “at minimum 11th cousins” and adding that Schroeder is “10th cousins once removed with Dee Dee,” Blanchard’s mother, who was killed in 2015 by Gypsy’s then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn.
“Still digging because Gypsy Rose and Stassi are related distantly in a bazillion different ways,” the genealogist continued in the caption. The “closest” relatives she’d found was through Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry — to whom Schroeder was connected through her father’s side — who died in 1687 and 1693, respectively.
Schroeder — who’s a massive true crime fan — saw the post and shared her reaction to the news of her distant relative, writing, “Omg I’m unwell 😂😂😂💀💀💀🪦🪦🪦”
Newman said that she had found the distant relation after spending the “whole day” looking into Blanchard’s family tree, likely in light of her release from prison days before.
Blanchard was granted parole in September and was released days before the New Year after having served 85 percent of her 10-year prison sentence. She was convicted of second-degree murder in 2016, and Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder for Dee Dee’s death.
After the couple were arrested for the death in 2015, it was revealed that Dee Dee had fabricated all of her daughter’s medical issues, and Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome — which is a rare form of abuse in which a guardian exaggerates or induces illness in a child for attention and sympathy.
Dee Dee had convinced her friends, family and community that her daughter was a terminally ill teenager with the mind of a 7-year-old who suffered from muscular dystrophy, leukemia and other ailments. Gypsy alleged her mother wouldn’t allow her to speak during doctor visits and told her that if she ever tried to escape, police wouldn’t believe her story.
Before her early release, Gypsy told PEOPLE she was “ready for freedom” and candidly reflected on Dee Dee’s death: “No one will ever hear me say I’m proud of what I did or I’m glad that she’s dead.”
She added, “I regret it every single day.”
While Gypsy didn’t comment on the post revealing her connection to Schroeder, she has been active on social media in the days since her release from prison, including sharing her “first selfie of freedom” and speaking out for the first time in an Instagram video where she thanked “everyone for the massive amount of support that I’ve been getting on social media, everyone has been really, really nice and supportive and I really appreciate that.”
She affirmed, “It’s nice to be home. I’m back home in Louisiana, enjoying a beautiful day outside and I’ve got a lot of really great things happening soon.”