After her parents' April 19 appeal hearing, Savannah Chrisley shares that Todd and Julie Chrisley are holding out hope for a better outcome.
On the Tuesday episode of her Unlocked podcast, Savannah recalls attending her parents' oral arguments hearing, which is part of their ongoing appeal. Todd and Julie were convicted on fraud charges in November 2022 and reported to prison in January 2023. Though the reality stars were initially sentenced to a combined 19 years, Todd is serving his reduced 10-year prison sentence in Pensacola, Florida, while Julie is serving a reduced five-year sentence in Lexington, Kentucky.
"We went to Atlanta Thursday night and it was a rough one. It was such a rough night," the 26-year-old Chrisley Knows Best star says, of the night leading up to the April 19 hearing. "Some things had happened, some drama had occurred and on top of everything else that I'm dealing with and then this trial and this hearing, it was so much for me to deal with. I literally just broke down."
Savannah admits that there is "some PTSD and some triggers" that led to her breaking down the night before the hearing: "I was sitting on the bathroom floor, hysterically in tears with [friend] Aaron, with [hairstylist] Tyler and with [boyfriend] Robert [Shiver]."
"But, I needed it," she adds. "I know my body needed it and I have to get better at listening to my body and what my body needs because it's OK to break down. It's OK to cry. It's OK to feel all the emotions but for so long, I have tried to convince myself, like, I'm stronger than my emotions. I'm stronger than what I've been through."
Savannah, Todd and Julie Chrisley
Quipping that she only got a "good solid 30 minutes of sleep," Savannah recalls the morning of the hearing, during which she "put a smile on my face, I threw on my suit like a boss and I headed towards that courtroom."
Savannah attended the hearing with her siblings, Chase and Grayson, Nanny Faye Chrisley and her boyfriend, whom she went Instagram official with in November 2023, three months after they started dating in August.
Todd and Julie weren't present for the hearing, but Savannah explains that the couple listened to the oral arguments from their respective prisons.
"They listened in on the appeal, they listened to the arguments and now they're back, just sitting there and hoping for change, hoping for something different, hoping for a different outcome," she says.
The reality star, who currently has custody of her younger siblings Grayson, 17, and Chloe, 11, shares that she'll be visiting her parents on Saturday. "I'm in my fighting era; I want to fight to get my parents home," she declares. "I miss them, the kids miss them and we're just ready for justice to be served."
When it comes to the family's future on reality TV when Todd and Julie do get out of prison, Savannah says that "everyone is just trying to get on the same page."
"Other than [a] reality show -- the moment Mom and Dad come home, I guarantee you, we have already been told everyone is going to want that footage. But right now my heart is telling me to focus on a show that's more true crime and focuses on the case and the ins and out of it and everything I am doing with prison reform," she confesses.
Savannah shares that she has teamed up with former attorney Brett Tolman, who launched the Right On Crime national campaign. According to its official website, the Right On Crime campaign "supports conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders, and lowering taxpayer costs. The movement was born in Texas in 2007 and has led the way in implementing conservative criminal justice reforms across the nation."
"They stand for everything I stand for," Savannah says. "They stand for everything that I believe in and my goal is hopefully to have Brett and I testifying in front of Congress on the conditions of these prisons, the mistreatment of these men and women, the abuse, the government waste, the theft, just all of it."
She reveals that the show is in final negotiations with a network. "A network wanted to see the true grit behind this whole case," Savannah adds. "So we are working on that and I'm really excited for that because that's kind of what God has placed on my heart. God has placed on my heart to work on a project that is going to change the lives of millions of people and I truly do believe that's what this can do."
Savannah Chrisley
Last month, Savannah told ET that she was super optimistic about her parents getting released from prison sooner rather than later.
"Looking forward to our appeal April 19," Savannah said at the time. "Obviously, I hope to have them home, maybe later in the summer."
"Just trying to do it all," said Savannah about working full time, managing a social/love life and helping her parents fight the legal system. "Raising a 17- and 11-year-old is a full-time job, but also working and trying to provide a life for them as well as fighting day in and day out with lawyers to get my parents home."
With so many complexities on her plate, Savannah said she's contemplating a second act, perhaps as an attorney, once her parents return.
"I have told Grayson that I would do it. So if Mom comes home then obviously it'll be she and Chloe or if Mom and Dad both come home then I would most certainly go back to school and try to become a lawyer," she shared. "It's never too late to follow your dreams. If I could be a lawyer by the time I'm 30 or 32, I might just do it."
Watch the full episode of Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley below.
RELATED CONTENT:
