"Chrisley Knows Best" star Savannah Chrisley is struggling with the reality of her parents' absence and says that her life is "falling apart" after they began their respective prison sentences for tax evasion last week.
At the start of Tuesday's episode of her "Unlocked With Savannah Chrisley" podcast, the 25-year-old reality star acknowledged the prison-sized elephant in the room and provided a quick life update on her family life.
"So for those of you that are familiar with my family and have followed our lives and have also followed my podcast, you know that last week was an extremely difficult week for my family as a whole and for each of us individually," Chrisley said. "We kind of had to say goodbye to my parents for a little bit of time, for the foreseeable future. And that was really, really, really tough."
The "Growing Up Chrisley" star said she hasn't taped a new podcast since before her folks' departure. Instead, the episode that went live Tuesday — a joyful, lighthearted conversation with her podcast producer and childhood friend Erin Dugan — was recorded on Jan. 12. Todd and Julie Chrisley headed to separate prisons Jan. 17.
The husband and wife, who were best known for USA Network's family reality series "Chrisley Knows Best," were convicted for tax evasion and bank fraud in June 2022.
Todd Chrisley will serve 12 years at the Sunshine State's Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, while Julie Chrisley will serve her seven-year sentence at Federal Medical Center Lexington, a women's prison in Kentucky. Both face 16 months' probation after release.
"The podcast that is going to be airing today that you're watching was filmed prior to my life falling apart, so it may seem happy-go-lucky during that time," Savannah Chrisley explained. "I think it's because there was a lot of hope that was had and I wasn't faced with the reality of the situation."
"So I just kind of wanted to throw this in there to address that because I know a lot of people are gonna be like, 'Whoa, what is this?' And this [pre-recorded episode] was kind of pre-life falling apart. And now podcasts that I do going forward will be post-. So I hope that kind of helps you understand things," she added.
Chrisley said that next week's episode will be a "very intense one-on-one podcast with myself kind of giving an update on where my life's at, where things stand." She also plans to share how her 16-year-old brother, Grayson, her 10-year-old niece, Chloe, her grandma, "Nanny Faye," and her parents are holding up.
"I'm really looking forward to giving that update because I've seen God work in the craziest of circumstances. So until then, I hope you enjoy this week's podcast," she said, adding: "Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for supporting me, my family and 'Unlocked.'"
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