Todd Chrisley isn’t looking forward to his first Thanksgiving behind bars.
The Chrisley Knows Best alum is “very upset about his situation” and spending the holidays “around other inmates instead of loved ones,” his rep told TMZ on Tuesday, November 21.
Todd, 54, and his wife, Julie Chrisley, both reported to prison in January after being convicted of 12 counts of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. Two months prior, Todd and Julie, 50, were sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively. Todd is currently serving his sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola in Florida while Julie is at Federal Medical Center, Lexington in Kentucky.
Although the couple won’t be sitting down to a family meal this Thanksgiving, their daughter Savannah Chrisley is planning to visit both of them at some point this holiday season, TMZ reported.
Savannah, 26, recently opened up about a win that gave her some renewed hope this holiday season: an appeals court granting a request for oral arguments in her parents’ case.
“We are spending Thanksgiving a little different this year because I wasn’t going to fake it. I wasn’t going to do the traditional Thanksgiving we’re always used to,” Savannah shared via Instagram video on Monday, November 20. “But I got a call this morning and the appeals court has granted our oral arguments. I literally was sobbing. It is one step closer to getting mom and dad home. The kids are freaking out. I’m freaking out. … It’s just amazing.”
Savannah said that the oral arguments will begin the week of March 25, 2024. “Only about six percent of cases that are submitted for oral arguments get accepted. So, this is huge news,” she shared. “We get to go and argue why mom and dad should be home. God is good. Thanksgiving win!”
Despite the good news, prison life is no picnic — and Savannah claims her attempts to raise awareness about the alleged living conditions in lockup have come at a cost.
“It’s been really tough [on my parents] since I started speaking out about everything,” Savannah told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month. “That’s been the toughest part. More so for Dad. There’s been a lot of retaliation, so we have to worry [about him].”
Savannah claimed that guards began targeting her father after she called his prison “a death trap” via Instagram. “They’re trying to move him from the facility he’s at now, because of the latest things that I’ve posted. And that’s the tough part — the moment you start speaking out, you have to pay for it,” she said.
Amid her parents’ legal woes, Savannah took custody of her brother Grayson, 17, and her brother Kyle Chrisley’s daughter, Chloe, 11, whom her parents adopted in 2017. The reality star has been candid about the ups and downs of being a guardian.
“I try to be a good adult figure in their life, but it’s really hard being 25 and having two kids and trying to figure out what’s best for them because normally you get to grow — you get to grow from one to two to three to four,” she explained during a May episode of her “Unlocked” podcast. “You get to grow through the ages. Now, I’m just being thrown into it.”
In addition to navigating her new family dynamic, Savannah is finding time for romantic love. She and boyfriend Robert Shiver made their relationship Instagram official earlier this month.
“Sometimes … it just works ❤️,” Savannah wrote alongside a series of PDA-filled photos.
