If you watch "Chrisley Knows Best," you're used to seeing the Chrisleys showcase their
over-the-top everyday life living in luxury.
But they’ve endured their share of tragedies along the way.
In 2012, Julie Chrisley was diagnosed with breast cancer.
In an interview with The Tennessean, she opened up about her cancer journey and how supportive
her husband was during the entire process.
She revealed that he encouraged her to get the life-saving mammogram after two of their
close friends were diagnosed with cancer.
Julie admitted,
"I did it to appease him so he would shut up and leave me alone."
"I think that the fear sometimes is as bad as the diagnosis."
After getting a biopsy done, doctors revealed she had cancer, and she decided to undergo
a double mastectomy.
She claims that her relationship with her husband grew even stronger during a vulnerable
moment when he helped her shower after being released from the hospital.
She explained to People magazine,
"I truly believe that that moment took our relationship to a whole other level because
he never flinched.
He was in the shower with me, he took all of my bandages off, and he never flinched."
Some time after the double mastectomy, Julie received breast implants and started to feel
like, in her words, "a new woman."
Dealing with online trolls is never an easy thing to do, especially when it comes to personal
attacks on family members and loved ones.
Julie Chrisley spoke with Page Six in January 2021 about the horrible racist remarks and
comments people on the internet have made towards her biracial granddaughter, Chloe
Chrisley, whom she and her husband, Todd, share custody of.
"They're bats— crazy."
"Chloe!"
"Where did you hear that from?"
"You!"
Julie explained to the publication,
"I can deal with just about anything, but the things that people have said about her
on social media are absolutely unfathomable.
It breaks my heart and it makes me realize just how far we as a country still have to
go."
One month later, Todd spoke out further regarding the racist comments.
According to People mag, he said,
"What I do see is that we, as a white couple in America, have never dealt with racism until
Chloe and we have been in that privileged sector of not having to have that added stress
on us as people."
"We needed to be able to use our platform to help those who may not have a voice."
Fortunately, the Chrisleys said they protect their granddaughter from seeing the horrible
comments.
"Tell you love your papa” “love my papa."
Like many celebrities and public figures, the Chrisleys have unfortunately experienced
a scary stalker situation.
In March 2021, Todd and Julie opened up about the situation on an episode of their podcast
"Chrisley Confessions" titled "The Dark Web, Respecting Boundaries, and Dealing with Life
as It Comes."
Todd said,
"We've been dealing with this stalker situation and it has now gone to another level.
I mean to where we have 24-hour security.
[...] This guy is a drug addict, he has been arrested multiple times.
[...] He's gone to jail, I mean, [...] he's been in psych wards.
You name it, he's done it."
The Chrisleys explained a lot of the fascination was towards their daughter Savannah and how
the alleged stalker purchased her phone number off "the dark web," as well as hacked social
media platforms of all the family members.
The situation has affected their livelihoods and their ability to sleep at night, even
with security guards around their home.
Todd went on to say that a criminal warrant has been signed for the person, adding,
"Because he finally crossed the line in something that he did that allowed the state of Tennessee
and this jurisdiction to go after him."
If you aren't actively watching "Chrisley Knows Best," allow us to break down the major
custody battle that took place involving Todd, his son Kyle, and Kyle's daughter Chloe.
In 2014, Todd and Julie were granted custody of Chloe and she began living with them permanently.
According to E! News, Kyle struggled with substance abuse and was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder.
Chloe's mother has also run into trouble with the law — Starcasm reported in April 2016
that she had been arrested for Medicaid fraud.
But issues between Kyle and his parents regarding Chloe persisted.
In an interview with Radar Online in September 2016, Todd discussed his decision to take
Chloe off "Chrisley Knows Best" due to an ongoing legal battle that prevented her from
being on the show unless Kyle got paid.
Kyle allegedly threatened to sue USA Network, which resulted in her getting pulled from
the show for some time.
Todd explained,
"At the end of the day, we had to do what was best for Chloe.
We did not want to drag her through all this and there was no way that we were going to
pay Kyle a penny."
As much as the Chrisley family tries to show off their seemingly perfect lives in front
of the camera, it's no secret that Todd and his oldest son, Kyle, have definitely faced
some rough times throughout their relationship.
According to Radar Online, things became tense after Kyle allegedly threatened to take his
father's life while he was under the influence of drugs.
Kyle was removed from the family's reality show.
Todd told E! News,
"He refused to take his medication.
He was hostile to the crew.
He was hostile to other people on the show and you can't have that.
[...] I didn't kick Kyle off the show."
It's safe to say Kyle felt a certain way about this decision because he later told the Daily
Mail that his father is a snake, adding,
"At this point he's ruined me and he's ruined the other three kids he's had who are spoiled."
Fortunately these days, Kyle and his father are working on rebuilding their relationship
and are in a better place.
In August 2019, Kyle shared that he is no longer estranged from his father.
In a Facebook post, he wrote,
"9 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."
In an August 2019 Instagram post featuring The Chrisley family as they surrounded Todd's
son Kyle in a hospital bed, Todd wrote,
"NOT TODAY SATAN, NOT TODAY.
[...] Kyle is great and we are back to the grind."
One week after this post was shared, Kyle opened up on the "Chrisley Confessions" podcast
to address the reason behind his hospitalization, opening up about his mental health and struggles
with addiction.
He admitted,
"I take medication and I had a bad side effect to it, and I tried to take my own life."
Although he was not specific about what particular medication he was taking, he noted that "suicidal
tendencies" were one of the side effects and confirmed that he had been diagnosed with
bipolar disorder years prior.
Amidst the health scare, Kyle stated that, with the help of his new medication and support
from his family, he has what it takes to move forward on the right path.
Todd and Lindsie Chrisley, his estranged daughter from his first marriage, have an incredibly
complicated relationship.
"There was an altercation that happened after the cameras shut down."
It all started when Todd accused Lindsie of having an affair during her eight-year marriage
with a Georgia Department of Revenue official — specifically, the official who was investigating
the family for tax evasion, as Lindsie told Dr. Phil.
Not too long after, Lindsie filed a police report claiming that her father and brother
Chase Chrisley were "threatening and harassing her" to release an alleged adult tape involving
her that her brother had purchased, according to E! News.
Lindsie claimed that they wanted her to lie about an incident and if she refused, they
were going to release the tape.
Todd denied the allegations in a statement and accused her of cheating on her husband
with two separate reality stars, saying,
"It's heartbreaking and shameful that these kinds of accusations have to be aired in public.
We have tried to keep Lindsie's extramarital relationships with [Bachelor Nation stars]
Robby Hayes and Josh Murray private for her sake since August of 2016."
"I'm telling you all right now, stop your stupid cuz I'm not in the mood for it."
In September 2021, Lindsie told Entertainment Tonight that she has no interest in having
a relationship with her family.
"There will never be a reconciliation."
She went on to admit,
"I think that the most that anyone could ask for at this point is for everyone to go on
with their lives as they see fit and to just leave the other side alone."
"For what they've done to me with this media circus, I will never forgive that."
In September 2020, Savannah and her fiancé at the time, NHL player Nic Kerdiles, called
off their engagement.
According to Us Weekly, the pair met on Instagram in November 2017 and got engaged in December
2018.
She later explained on the "Chrisley Confessions" podcast that she and Kerdiles were moving
too quickly and decided to postpone their wedding.
She admitted,
"We both realized that things moved way too fast and we needed to go back to dating."
"It's so easy to be in the honeymoon phase of things, and then when the real world hit,
we weren't prepared for it."
In an exclusive interview with E! News, she stated that she and her boo were taking a
step back in order to focus on and strengthen their, quote, "God-centered" relationship.
A short three months later, the TV personality shared on Instagram in a now-deleted post
that the duo officially ended their relationship.
She explained to Us Weekly that there's no bad blood between them and that they are each
taking time to work on themselves.
She said,
"I'm focusing on me and I feel like that is the best way to go.
And you know, it is what it is."
The Chrisleys have run into quite a few financial issues since entering stardom in 2014.
According to People magazine, the former real estate mogul found himself deep in a financial
hole after a business investment turned sour and needed to file a petition for Chapter
7 bankruptcy protection in 2012.
He allegedly listed more than $4.2 million in assets; however, he owed nearly $50 million.
His attorney told the publication,
"He guaranteed a real estate development loan and it failed.
He was on the hook for $30 million.
If he hadn't had that happen, he would have been fine, financially."
Although there was speculation that the Chrisley couple was being dishonest and hiding their
wealth, the Chrisleys' lawyers proved that he had nothing to hide during this case.
His lawyer went on to say,
"He has cooperated fully.
He has been totally honest and forthright.
He is not hiding assets."
Todd Chrisley's file for bankruptcy wasn't the only public financial situation the Chrisleys
found themselves in.
According to People mag, the "Chrisley Knows Best" stars were accused of evading almost
$2 million between 2008 and 2016 in state taxes, wire fraud, and conspiracy bank fraud.
Todd addressed the situation in a post that he shared on Instagram in August 2019, writing,
"We discovered that a trusted employee of ours had been stealing from us big time.
[...] Not only do we know we've done nothing wrong, but we've got a ton of hard evidence
and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it."
In October 2019, the Chrisley family was cleared of the $2 million tax evasion charge by the
Georgia Department of Revenue.
The Chrisleys were reported to have overpaid in four of those years and owed less than
$77,000 for one year due to incorrect filing.
In a statement, Todd said,
"Julie and I knew all along that we had done nothing wrong and that when the facts all
came out, we would be fine.
We're just glad that the Department of Revenue was willing to keep an open mind and look
at all the evidence."
"Our family will stick together and we'll walk this road because we know that the good
Lord will hold our hand and take us through."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).