Todd Chrisley is certain he’s a changed man after serving prison time for a crime he vehemently says he didn’t commit.
“We read social media comments. We see the articles that are written,” Todd, 56, exclusively shared with Us Weekly before The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premieres on Lifetime Monday, September 1. “People saying, ‘Well, Todd doesn’t look like he’s ever gone to prison.’ Well, in another life, I would have been like, to the kids or to Julie, ‘OK, great. So they wrote a positive article about how I looked.’ So, I mean, that’s a good thing.”
These days, Todd doesn’t understand why some people are more obsessed with the way he looks rather than other more important issues.
“Now I’m like, ‘Why are we talking about how I look? Why are we not talking about what I went through? All the people that are there that are still going through this today.’”
Todd Chrisley Says It’s ‘Heartbreaking’ Watching His Kids Fight on New Show
In January 2023, both Todd and his wife, Julie Chrisley, reported to prison to serve a combined 19-year sentence after being found guilty on bank fraud and tax evasion charges. (Both parties have maintained their innocence.)
On May 27, Todd and Julie, 52, were pardoned by President Donald Trump and were able to return home to their family members, including Savannah, Chase, Grayson and Chloe Chrisley.
“I don’t think you can go through something like this and not change, and it would almost be sad if you didn’t change,” Julie explained to Us. “There’s definitely a time where you see things differently, where you react differently, because you’ve been in a situation where you’ve had to react differently. I think that’s part of the adjustment period back home.”
While both parents remain proud of all their children for how they’ve handled a difficult few years, Todd gave a special shout-out to Savannah, 28, for taking on the role of guardian for Grayson, 19, and Chloe, 12, while her parents were in prison.
“She took on the responsibility of her younger brother and her younger sister. She ran the finances for the family,” he explained. “She fought to get her mother and father home every day of her life.”
Savannah also experienced a tragic loss in September 2023 when Nic Kerdiles died at the age of 29 following a motorcycle crash.
Despite her grief, Savannah persevered and never gave up on her dream of bringing her parents home.
“She lost her former fiancé to a motorcycle accident, and who did she grieve to?” Todd asked. “Who was there for her to collapse to? I wasn’t there for her. … How can she be the same person?”
Savannah Chrisley Details Family’s ‘Big Adjustment’ After Parents’ Release
As Lifetime prepares to share a rare glimpse into the Chrisley family’s life before and after their release from prison, Todd is proud of how his kids have persevered.
“I look at my children, and I know that Savannah has a servant’s heart,” Todd said. “When you raise a child, [when] you see that, you have to say, out of all the things that I may have dropped the ball on, I didn’t drop the ball with that.”
The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premieres on Lifetime Monday, September 1, at 8 p.m. ET.
