What Really Happened To The Cast Of Gypsy Sisters
Who can forget the weird, wonderful, fighting-on-the-floor antics of the "Gypsy Sisters"? The ladies who got their start as the figurative fire starters on TLC's "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding" gave us three seasons of high drama before leaving the air in 2015. And even their departure was dramatic: while TLC's official line was that ratings were low, according to TMZ, the cancellation came just weeks after a highly-publicized incident where star Mellie Stanley's husband allegedly killed a puppy after a fight over unpaid bills (via TMZ). Notably, no direct correlation was ever made.
Regardless as to why the "Gypsy Sisters" were ultimately sent packing, their allure lives on. The lives of Mellie and Nettie Stanley, Annie Malone, Joann Wells, and Kayla Williams haven't slowed down much since the cameras stopped rolling either, as everything from felony arrests to divorce and grandchildren have entered their lives since then. Here's a look at what they're all doing now, as well as the status of a potential reboot for our favorite ladies from Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Nettie Stanley is enjoying her private life as a grandma
The eldest of the "Gypsy Sisters" cast, Nettie Stanley seems content to be out of the spotlight. She is instead focusing instead on her new life as a grandma and mother to nine kids: Albert, Dallas, Destiny, Chastie, Kat, Heath, Huey, Nuckie, and Sheila, according to InTouch. A quick perusal of her Instagram shows that to be true, with row after row of pictures of her grandchildren. Her daughter Nuckie Williams appears to have just gotten married, according to a wedding certificate post. And a poolside bathing suit shot showed that Nettie, who renewed her vows with Huey Stanley towards the end of "Gypsy Sisters," has been keeping in pretty good shape, especially after having all those kids.
While she posts on social media from time to time now, Nettie may well have retreated from public life for some time after the tragic stabbing of her stepson, Rocky Stanley. In March 2015, TMZ reported Rocky got into "an altercation" at a YMCA in Kingsport, Tennessee after a basketball game, and was ultimately stabbed multiple times. He died at a hospital a short time later. Though he never appeared on the show, his death was newsworthy enough, and Nettie has been quiet since.
After a fraud arrest, once-accidental mother Mellie Stanley now has four kids
Mellie Stanley was the self-appointed "black sheep" of the "Gypsy Sisters" cast, according to the Daily Mail. But when she got pregnant with her son in 2013, motherhood made her slow down a little. "My mother instincts are kicking up in me, and I'm not going back to my being crazy," she told Radar Online. Probably a responsible decision, given how earlier in the interview she admitted the pregnancy was the result of a drunken decision.
Mellie's definition of "going back to crazy" may be up for interpretation, however. In 2019, TMZ reported Mellie pleaded guilty to theft by deception and possession of a criminal instrument — both felonies — as part of a massive coupon scam involving Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us. She received five years probation with the requirement that she receive her GED, as well as other rules she must follow.
It looks like the situation has left her free to spend more time with the three children she has custody of: Richie, Divinity Rose, and Serenity Faye (via Starcasm). The latter was born in 2020, and is the product of Mellie's relationship with new man, MJ West.
Kayla Williams is a married grandma who sells diet products on her Instagram
The hustle lives hard with Kayla Williams, who since leaving "Gypsy Sisters" has found other avenues to cash in on her reality TV fame. She's been making paid partnership posts on Instagram with BoomBod, a weight loss shot drink that claims to be a low-calorie appetite suppressant, according to its website. She's also making custom-designed cell phone cases, judging by some Instagram posts. So if you want a cell phone case with mud flap girls posing over a set of brass knuckles — and want be able to casually drop "this was made by one of the 'Gypsy Sisters'" — you know where to go.
Williams is also a grandma, and her Instagram is littered with pictures of adorable grandbabies. Among them is her daughter Sissy Williams' son Henry, who came close to tragedy in 2019. TMZ reported the then-1-year-old was getting a bath from his 7-year-old stepsister, who forgot to mix any cold water in with the hot. Henry hit the water and immediately went into shock, receiving second degree burns and ultimately ending up on a ventilator. He survived, however, after undergoing surgery for his burns.
JoAnn Wells was part of a large Target coupon scam, and now just posts a lot of selfies
Though InTouch described middle child JoAnn Wells as "the good-natured" one, a fine disposition apparently doesn't mean you're above scamming coupons from Target. According to TMZ, Wells linked up with a couple of Target cashiers in December 2013, and conspired to force expired coupons, cash in gift cards, and run fake barcodes to the tune of about $14,700. She ultimately pled guilty to obtaining property by false pretenses, and got 24 months probation in addition to having to repay Target, according to Coupons in the News. That was one "Gypsy Sisters" secret you probably weren't supposed to know about.
Having moved past her criminal and reality TV past, Wells now seems content to stay out of the direct limelight. She separated from husband Belcher Wells and then got back together with him, though it's unclear if they're still together today. Judging by her Facebook page — dubbed "Joann Thegypsyprincess" — she enjoyed posting pictures of herself and occasionally her children, though she hasn't posted in several years now.
Annie Malone was arrested for exploitation of an elderly person
Annie Malone has had perhaps the most dubious arrest since the end of "Gypsy Sisters." In January 2017, she was charged with exploitation of the elderly, obtaining property by false pretense, forgery of an instrument, uttering of a forged instrument, and conspiracy, according to the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald. Malone, along with her cousin Jeanette Small and Small's boyfriend Dick Cooper, allegedly performed yard work for an elderly resident of Halifax County, North Carolina. The resident paid them by check, but allowed the trio to fill out the amounts. They overcharged her nearly $6,000, according to the story. It was an especially bad look as Annie had recently posted pictures of a Louis Vuitton bag and Armani sunglasses she'd purchased on a trip to New York (via Starcasm).
And who was there to post Annie's $400 bond? None other than Mellie Stanley, according to Starcasm; however, InTouch reported Mellie's daughter Dallas saying TLC was the one who coughed up the bail money. At the very least, Annie seems to have moved on, and now also promotes BoomBod on her Instagram page, posting one enthusiastic promotional shot in October 2020.
Is a Gypsy Sisters reboot in the works?
Though Annie Malone's bail posting was almost certainly not a publicity stunt, it did cause some — like Starcasm's Asa Hawks – to raise the question of why TLC might be bailing out one of its canceled stars (if they did indeed bail her out at all). Were they filming again? The rumors may have been fueled by a social media exchange earlier in the year, which began with Nettie Stanley posting a screen grab of a text conversation between herself and Firecracker Films producer Kirsty Smith. The convo, as posted by Starcasm, showed Smith saying "my execs are wanting to move forward in possibly getting you your own show again."
This came shortly after Mellie Stanley posted on Facebook (via someone else's account, because why should anything surrounding "Gypsy Sisters" be simple?) that "they want to come back with GYPSY SISTERS." She added, "None of the gypsy sisters wants to do it," noting, "I don't know bout Nettie but me Kayla Annie Joann and Dovie are not." Neither claim has gained much traction, though, as no reboot or spinoff has aired yet. And no rumors are swirling about anything in the works.