Credit: Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
The Chrisley family household has been turned upside down this holiday season as Todd and Julie Chrisley prepare to report to jail and begin serving time for tax fraud shortly into the new year.
It’s been revealed that The Chrisley Knows Best stars will be turning themselves in to Federal authorities on January 17, 2023, at 12 p.m. to begin serving their prison sentences. Todd has been sentenced to 12 years and his wife, Julie, was handed down a seven-year sentence. Both will have 16 months of probation following their release. Todd will be placed at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, and Julie will be residing at the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, Florida.
The reality television couple is not going down without a fight, though. They are “optimistic” in their decision to appeal their convictions.
In a statement to E! News, the Chrisleys’ attorney, Alex Little, claims the trial was “marred by serious and repeated errors,” including the Government allegedly “lying” to jurors.
Up until recently, Todd and Julie have not addressed their appeals publicly. However, Todd touched on the couple’s decision during an appearance on the Chrisley Confessions podcast, and he revealed the reason behind the silence.
“We cannot discuss the case because the appeal has now been [filed]…” Todd explained. “Don’t think we’re avoiding wanting to tell you something because we’re not. It’s that we’ve been told we cannot. Continue to pray for us if it’s in your heart and your will to do so.”
The Chrisleys have always maintained that God and their faith were the hallmark and heart of their family. Todd explained that his faith is what he and Julie are leaning on during their “dark times.”
“We have placed our faith in God. We trust that, at some point, God is going to shed light where there’s darkness. God is going to walk us through the valley.”
The family’s mega-successful reality shows, Chrisley Knows Best and spinoff Growing Up Chrisley, have both been canceled in the wake of Todd and Julie’s convictions. During the podcast episode, Todd thanked fans for sticking by the family, and he is thankful that they were able to bring some “happiness” to people while it lasted.
“I’m glad that our shows have brought you that happiness because that’s what we get up to do every day, is to make someone else’s life better. And I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, but I don’t think the fans truly know that sometimes the happiness that we’re bringing you is at some of our saddest times,” Todd said.
The Chrisley patriarch also described the reality show as a “burden” that he had to “carry for 10 years.”
“We’re dying on the inside, but we still have to put a smile on your face. So, we’re not asking for sympathy, but just understand that the work that we have done has at times been to our own detriment and has been a detriment to our own mental health, at times. And certainly, with the kids,” Todd lamented.
Todd’s 33-year-old daughter Lindsie Chrisley’s mental health has also taken a dive since learning of her parents’ convictions and sentences. So much so that she has said she’s had to make hard choices on what to expose and reveal to her son, 10-year-old Jackson. She decided to limit the time spent with Todd and Julie during the holidays, confessing she skipped Thanksgiving.
“With my parents’ sentencing just being a couple of days before Thanksgiving and me having Jackson for Thanksgiving, emotions were very high at that point, and so I just didn’t feel it was in the best interest of Jackson for him to go and see my parents in any state that they normally aren’t if that makes sense,” she explained on her podcast, The Southern Tea.
“They needed time to process, and I wanted to be able to give them that time and very much struggled with giving up spending the time with my parents and having to make a decision as a mother over a daughter like that was a very difficult thing,” Lindsie added.
If you think the Chrisleys are letting any of their hardships slow them down, you’d be wrong. Todd teased that he has a new docuseries in the works. It will reveal “the truth” and offer “insight” into what really went down during their fall from grace.
“New show content is going to give you a whole new perspective of the Chrisley family,” he concluded. “And you are going to get to go through the ups and the downs and everything that we’re going through, the little bit that you’ve heard in the tabloids, you’ll get to hear the whole story.”