Todd Chrisley may provide a lot of laughter on his hit TV show Chrisley Knows Best.
'It's just me and you that's supposed to be walking through the door.
Not me, you, and your camel toe."
His off-camera drama has been anything but funny, though.
Let's take a look at the double life of Todd Chrisley.
Money management
Although the so-called "patriarch of perfection" family lives a glamorous life on TV, Chrisley
has been in some serious financial trouble in recent years.
In 2014, People Magazine reported that the reality TV star filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
because he was about $49.4 million in the red, against assets worth $4.2 million.
Chrisley later told Radar Online that the bankruptcy case arose due to a bad “business
situation” involving a former investment partner and friends and that he "was not going
to be stuck with $46 million dollars" as a result of it.
Chrisley also said that the claim had ultimately been discharged after the parties involved
reached a settlement.
He told Radar simply:
"I am not the only person who has filed bankruptcy, and I won’t be the last.
It is what it is."
Unfortunately for Chrisley, that wasn’t the last time his family would face financial
jeopardy.
In 2016, he was reportedly hit with a federal tax lien of over half a million dollars and
faced property seizure if he failed to pay.
Yikes!
Black sheep
It’s no secret that Todd Chrisley’s relationship with his son Kyle has been strained over the
last few years, but things hit a fever pitch in October, 2014, when Kyle gave a scathing
interview to the Daily Mail in which he called his father "bankrupt, toxic, and a snake"
and accused Todd of gaining custody of Kyle's young daughter, Chloe, in an effort to improve
his show's viewership.
Chrisley addressed Kyle’s words by explaining that his son is bipolar and often shifts his
opinion of his father, depending on his moods.
"Kyle is bipolar, so when you have a child that deals with that, you know today I'm your
best friend tomorrow you don't know who I am."
He also said Kyle refuses to take the proper medication for his mental illness but that
he would be welcome back on the show if he ever were to straighten himself out.
The rumor mill
Even before Chrisley Knows Best premiered in 2014, Todd was forced to address rumors
that he is gay, despite his 20 year marriage and five children.
He told People Magazine that he’s dealt with such gossip for years but it’s simply
not true:
"There's no coming out.
What you see is what you get.
I am what I am.
Other people's opinions of me are just not my business."
A lot of those flames have been fanned by Chrisley’s own son Kyle, who even once claimed
that Todd was carrying on an extramarital affair with a doctor, but Todd keeps a sense
of humor about the long-standing rumors.
"I get bisexual.
I get it all, so I'm just greedy."
More family feuds
Casting more shadow over the family's peppy on-screen persona, People Magazine reported
in March 2016 that Todd's sister-in-law, Pamela Chrisley, had been arrested and charged with
second degree harassment after allegedly trying to blackmail and extort Todd out of hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
Pamela reportedly was threatening to sell a story about Todd to the National Enquirer
unless he deposited hush money into her account.
She was later released on a $1,000 bond and ordered to make "no contact with victims for
any reason or by any means, directly or indirectly," and "no electronic communications of any kind."
In an Instagram post, the reality TV star confirmed Pamela's arrest, claiming she tried
to extort his family because his brother, Randy Chrisley, had filed for divorce.
He wrote,
"We are at peace now that we know who has been behind this tragic situation and ask
for your prayers and support for healing at this time."
Old skeletons
According to the Daily Mail, Todd Chrisley's first wife, Teresa Terry, launched a domestic
violence claim against him for inflicting mental and physical abuse upon her during
their marriage.
In the suit, Terry alleged Chrisley "wielded a knife and threatened to kill her" and beat
his own mother.
Todd, however, has denied Terry's claims.
The pair were married for seven years and had two children together: Kyle and Lindsie.
They divorced in 1996.
Unreality
Another supposed revelation from Kyle's bombshell interviews with Daily Mail included his claims
that Chrisley Knows Best has torn the family apart, in part because it's fake.
He said:
"This show has been nothing but bad for me.
At this point [my dad has] ruined me and he's ruined the other three kids he's had who are
spoiled.
The whole thing is fake.
He micromanages everything so if you say something and he doesn't like it he'll say, 'Stop' and
tell you what to say and you'll do it again."
For his part Chrisley says he takes such words with a grain of salt.
"The things that Kyle says, although they're not true and they're hurtful, but it doesn't
change my love for him.
He's my child."
Even so, it's difficult to totally dismiss Kyle's claims, especially after comparing
how sunny Todd Chrisley's life seems to be on-screen versus all these other controversies
his family's been faced with when the cameras aren't rolling.
How do those Kardashians do it?
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