Chrisley Family Drama Through the Years: Legal Trouble, Feuds and More
Let the cameras roll. Chrisley Knows Best is certainly not without drama, but its stars have been at the center of more controversies than a single reality show can handle.
Fans met Todd Chrisley, Julie Chrisley and their kids — Chase, Savannah and Grayson — when the series premiered on USA Network in March 2014. The businessman’s children from his first marriage to Teresa Terry — Lindsie and Kyle — also appeared on early seasons of the show.
However, the former real estate tycoon’s relationships with his older kids broke down as the family became more high-profile. The feuds soon became public knowledge and often played out for the world to see.
When Todd revealed in April 2020 that he was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, a social media user sent Lindsie a DM, which she shared via her Instagram Story. “Hi Lindsie!” the note read. “Did you see your Dad has Covid? I guess the good guys really do win in the end.”
The “Coffee Convos” podcast cohost fired back at the negative sentiment. “The audacity of some people blows my mind,” she retorted. “This is disgusting. My inbox is flooding with similar messages & I’m not here for it. Get right or get off my page.”
Lindsie took her reaction one step further, exclusively telling Us Weekly at the time, “I don’t want anything bad to happen to my father.”
Her attorney, meanwhile, added that the reality star “was very saddened to hear that her father was diagnosed with COVID. She does not feel happy he has the virus.” Todd, for his part, eventually recovered.
Although Lindsie wished her father well when he was sick, their relationship was not mended. Kyle, on the other hand, revealed in August 2019 that he and Todd had reconciled after years of tension.
“My mom [Julie] and dad raised me,” Kyle wrote via Instagram. “I haven’t been the best dad to [daughter] Chloe, I’ve had a problem with drugs, I’ve acted completely ridiculously, and through all that, they have stood by my side. Nine months ago, I went to my dad with an apology. His words were ‘I love you always, and you are forgiven’ and just like that, I was welcomed back into his life with open arms. I will be forever grateful for his love [and] graciousness.”
The Chrisleys’ drama only got more intense in June 2022, when Todd and Julie were convicted of tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy. Though the Chrisley family patriarch denied the allegations three years prior — claiming that an ex-employee set them up — Todd and Julie were later sentenced to 12 years in prison and seven years in federal prison, respectively.
Scroll through the gallery below to revisit all of the scandals the Chrisleys have been involved in during their time in the spotlight.
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“I had a problem with the way the marriage started,” he elaborated. “Not just on Will’s side but on my daughter’s side as well. I don’t think that the marriage started out the way that it should have, and certainly not the way that a father would like to see a marriage start.”
Todd’s bond with Lindsie only deteriorated more from there, with her last appearance on Chrisley Knows Best airing in 2017 during season 5. He claimed in August 2021 that her issues with the family actually started because of her animosity toward Savannah.
“There was just some kind of emotional battle that Lindsie has had within herself and jealousy amongst her siblings,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “It started out with Savannah having way more social media followers, and then [she] wasn’t getting enough time on the show.”
© Courtesy Kyle Chrisley/Instagram
Kyle alleged in 2014 that his dad “stole” Chloe from him because her appearance on the reality show “would be good for his demographic.” However, Todd seemingly addressed the accusations via Twitter, writing, “My son Kyle is bipolar, he suffers from mental illness, he will struggle for life.”
Todd gained full custody of Chloe after Johnson was arrested in 2016 for allegedly defrauding Medicaid and food stamps.
© Courtesy Kyle Chrisley/Instagram
The district attorney opted to drop the drug charges against Kyle in Oklahoma. As for the case in Georgia, he was booked for terroristic threats and released on his own recognizance.
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Murray insisted that he and Lindsie had “been friends for years” amid the allegations, while Hayes said he “did not make a sex tape” with her. Instead, he claimed that they “got caught on [a] security camera.”
Lindsie’s attorney alleged that she had “been a constant target of lies, harassment and threats from her family and, as a result, has been distancing herself from the Chrisley family since 2017.”
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Todd told E! News in August 2021 that he was “not reaching out” to Lindsie about her divorce because it was not his place. “It’s not my business, I was not a party to it, I don’t know what happened,” he added.
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Todd and Julie, who now face up to 30 years in prison, are planning to appeal the conviction, per a statement from their attorney. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for a later date. Beverly Hills-based legal expert Jeffrey W. Steinberger, who is not affiliated with the case, told Us that the duo could be looking at "enormous jail time."
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Per a state warrant obtained by Us the following day, the person Kyle assaulted was his boss, Deven Campbell. The document stated that Kyle allegedly attacked the victim "by striking him multiple times in the face and upper body." The warrant also noted, "The victim stated that the defendant also displayed a fixed blade knife and threatened to kill/stab him."
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