Savannah Chrisley‘s boyfriend, Robert Shiver, got a stamp of approval from her mother, Julie Chrisley — but her father, Todd Chrisley, hasn’t been as receptive.
During the Tuesday, January 7, episode of Savannah’s “Unlocked” podcast, Shiver, 40, confirmed that he met Julie, 52, but claimed Todd, 55, “has not been as open” to making an introduction.
“I think that’s probably rightfully so,” Shiver noted. “It’s his daughter. [He is probably thinking], ‘Who’s this guy? He’s got all this baggage.’ And Todd has a tendency to be vocal on certain situations and issues.”
Shiver continued: “I don’t know if there’s many situations where nobody knows how he feels, because they always know how he feels.”
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Savannah, 27, noted that her father’s reservations could come from Shiver’s past, adding, “I don’t think anyone ever looks at life, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I want my kid to marry someone that’s 12 years older, that’s been divorced and that has kids.’ Like, that’s not what you would want for your daughter.”
Shiver, however, has his “fingers crossed” about meeting Todd this year. Both of Savannah’s parents are serving time in prison after being convicted in June 2022 of fraud and tax evasion.
“I have met your mother one time. She is an incredible human being. Me and Julie, we get along great,” Shiver shared. “I was just open [with her]. It’s so easy to talk tough behind the keyboard. It’s so easy to read comments and that’s why I just stay away from all of that stuff, because all you’re going to do is go down a rabbit hole.”
He continued: “I’m going into this open. This is somebody that you love. This is somebody that everybody in the car loves. So I went in with an open mind and it didn’t disappoint and I had a great time with her. I think she laughed a ton.”
Savannah told Shiver that he and Julie connected because “you are my mother and I am my father.” As she continues to advocate for her parents’ innocence, Savannah admitted she was concerned about Shiver not meeting the “best version” of Julie.
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“That was really difficult for me,” she shared. “You’re going to visit her in a prison and I don’t think you’ve ever thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go see my girlfriend’s mom in prison, meet her for the first time.’ Like, not the image anyone had ever imagined.”
Todd and Julie were first indicted in 2019 on charges of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. After being found guilty in 2022, Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison and his wife received a seven-year sentence. The couple have maintained their innocence while continuing to serve their time in separate locations.
Savannah, for her part, stepped up to look after her brother Grayson, 18, and niece Chloe, 11, whom Shiver has bonded with as well. Savannah initially reached out to Shiver after he made headlines in 2023 for surviving an alleged murder plot orchestrated by his ex Lindsay Shiver.
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While looking ahead to their future, Savannah admitted she isn’t planning to start a family with Shiver until his divorce is finalized.
“Well, I’m not gonna have a child with someone that is still legally married. I’m not really into that,” she recently mentioned on her podcast. “But if I had a child with him and we weren’t married, like, I’m fine with that, but you just can’t be married to someone else when I have that child.”
Savannah added that things will “move quick” once Shiver is legally single.
