Savannah Chrisley is weighing in on how Julie and Todd Chrisley’s imprisonment has impacted her 11-year-old niece, Chloe, and 18-year-old brother Grayson.
During the Tuesday, October 1, episode of her “Unlocked” podcast, Savannah, 27, read a letter she wrote to a judge while reflecting on the recent decision to uphold Julie’s original prison sentence of 84 months.
“Chloe is struggling in school, despite the resources I’ve tried to provide. Both she and Grayson wrestle with anxiety and depression that sometimes leaves them debilitated,” Savannah said while reading from the paper. “I’m fighting with every ounce of my being to keep them from becoming another statistic. Children of incarcerated parents who lose their way.”
She continued, “They are brilliant, beautiful souls with the potential to change the world and I don’t want this world to break them. But I can’t do it alone. I need my mother. We need her.”
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Todd, 55, and Julie, 51, were indicted on tax evasion charges in 2019. They were found guilty in June 2022 of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. Todd and Julie were initially ordered to serve 12 and seven years in prison, respectively. Us Weekly previously confirmed that Todd’s sentence was reduced to 10 years.
Amid her parents’ legal woes, Savannah took over custody of Chloe and Grayson. Todd and Julie also share son Chase, 28. Todd is the father of Lindsie, 35, and Kyle, 33, from his previous marriage. (Kyle is Chloe’s biological father, but she was adopted by Todd and Julie in 2016.)
“The past two years have been unimaginably difficult. I know that God destined me for motherhood, but never did I expect to be placed in this role under these circumstances,” Savannah said in the letter she read on Tuesday.
“I love Grayson and Chloe with all my heart but no matter how much I provide for them I know I can never truly give them what their mother can,” Savannah continued. “Chloe, who has already experienced the pain of abandonment by her biological parents, now faces that same heartbreak again with the absence of my parents — her true parents.”
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Savannah noted that Chloe asked whether Julie would be there to teach her how to drive or to witness her first high school dance.
“I feel the strain every day as I juggle raising them, fighting for justice and freedom for my parents and trying to keep a roof over our heads,” Savannah said. “As a single woman running a one income household, it often feels like no matter how hard I work it’s never quite enough.”
Savannah continued, “My mother has missed so many of the moments that define a family — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Chloe entering middle school and starting cheerleading, Grayson’s last baseball season, senior year, prom, and now the college admissions process. All moments when children need their parents most.”
