If you're a longtime viewer of "Chrisley Knows Best," then you might think that you know
all there is about the family.
But there's still a lot to discover!
Here's what you might not know about "Chrisley Knows Best."
Based on what you see on "Chrisley Knows Best" when the cameras are rolling, you'd be hard-pressed
to suspect that they're anything but rolling in the dough.
For one, each member of the cast has a seriously nice wardrobe, and they all drive some rather impressive vehicles.
Don't forget the palatial estate that the Chrisleys call home, or the elegant furnishings
inside of the home, either.
"It's ridiculous how expensive, like, shoes are."
"Shoes."
"That's the most expensive part of my outfit."
"Why don't you get your dad to pay for it?"
According to various sources, the Chrisleys' financial situation isn't nearly as rosy as it seems.
According to People, Todd Chrisley had to file for bankruptcy back in 2012 after incurring
almost $45 million worth of debt, thanks to an extremely consequential real estate hiccup.
Chrisley's lawyer explained to the magazine:
"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."
Maybe, but the Chrisley patriarch also had other bills at the time, including a half-million
dollar debt to the IRS, a cool $12 million in mortgages, and $4.4 million owed to his wife.
Per the Daily Mail, Todd - who is reportedly worth negative $5 million, according to Celebrity
Net Worth - agreed to settle his bankruptcy case in 2014, though things still aren't exactly
on the up and up for the Chrisley family yet.
Todd Chrisley's bankruptcy filing isn't the only financial scandal that has plagued the
stars of "Chrisley Knows Best," as he and Julie Chrisley were also charged with tax evasion.
The Georgia Department of Revenue accused the Chrisleys of owing $2 million in state
taxes between the years of 2008 through 2016.
Yikes.
"Now with that new drama for reality TV star Todd Chrisley.
He's under investigation by state tax authorities in Georgia."
Fortunately, things mostly worked out for the Chrisleys, who forked over just under
$148,000 to settle the matter in 2019.
The settlement also detailed that the only year the Chrisleys actually owed for was 2009,
which was offset by other years in which they were due refunds.
Todd revealed in a statement:
"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."
While the Chrisleys' issues with the state of Georgia seem to be settled, there are still
federal tax charges - including "wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy
to commit bank fraud, and tax evasion" - to face.
Todd maintained their innocence in a 2019 Instagram post, and says that he and his family have nothing to hide.
“So I track all of their cell phone activities and I keep a tracking device on all of their vehicles."
On "Chrisley Knows Best," viewers are invited into the lives of Todd Chrisley and his family,
including his children Savannah, Chase, and Grayson Chrisley.
However, it turns out that those three children aren't the only kids that Todd has parented,
as he also has another son, Kyle Chrisley, who appeared in early episodes of the show.
And while the two appear to get along quite swimmingly now, that wasn't always the case.
The reason?
Kyle had a pretty rough go of things for a while, according to TMZ.
Apparently, the eldest Chrisley son was arrested in Oklahoma for felony possession of methamphetamine,
and had a warrant out for his arrest back in Georgia as well.
So it's not surprising that custody of his daughter, Chloe Chrisley, was awarded to Todd and Julie Chrisley.
Kyle also went on record to say some pretty terrible things about his father to the Daily
Mail, too, even accusing him of having Chloe on the show for the sake of ratings only.
"And I'm not going to lie - hearing Kyle's voice over the phone, it causes me to become very emotional."
Fortunately, all of that negativity appears to be behind Kyle, who revealed in a Facebook
post in 2019 that he had mended things with Todd.
Todd and Julie Chrisley have been married for a long time - over two decades.
However, there are a couple of reasons that some folks suspect that their relationship
is just for the cameras.
For one, an insider claimed that Todd and Julie behave completely differently when the
cameras on their show stop rolling.
The source revealed to Radar Online:
"It is hard for anyone who works with Todd or Julie to believe that their marriage is authentic.
It's made for TV.
They do not display the same level of affection and love towards each other off-camera as
they do when they are filming."
Secondly, some folks have wondered if Todd might actually be gay - even his own wife
has referred to him on the show as "metrosexual."
But as Todd put it, he is indeed a straight man.
Todd also made it a point to say that he's not bothered by the rumors, as he believes
a person's sexuality is given to them by God, and therefore an innate part of them.
It's an open secret that reality television isn't exactly real all of the time.
But it would seem that "Chrisley Knows Best" just might be even less real than some of its viewers expected.
"It's cold brew."
"A beer on ice?"
"No Elliot, it's like a nitro cold-brewed coffee."
"My gosh, that's way advanced food."
One particularly surprising claim that's been made about the series has to do with all of
those funny jokes that Todd cracks.
In what may come as a shock to some viewers, it's been reported that he might not be the
person who comes up with those witty retorts.
As a source who allegedly has insider knowledge of the series revealed to Radar Online:
"Todd uses a team of comedy writers for his show, and has been using them to write dialogue
for several seasons.
Todd does not come up with this stuff on his own, and is not as funny as people think."
"I need you to shut up."
So just how much of what you see on "Chrisley Knows Best" is the authentic real deal, and
how much was allegedly dreamed up by a production team?
The source claimed:
"More than half of the dialogue on the show is scripted and a large majority of the scenes
are re-shot when they are not as funny as he wants them to be."
Becoming a reality television star definitely leads to some perks, fame and fortune chiefly among them.
And while Savannah Chrisley seems to be doing quite well with both of those, she has been
open that a life in the spotlight is not always champagne and roses.
In fact, she says that fans of "Chrisley Knows Best" can actually be super harsh at times.
Notably, when Savannah's relationship with Nic began to have problems, she shared that
people were less than kind about the fallout.
She told Entertainment Tonight:
"The hard part too is that people only see the 30 minutes of something and love to come
at you on social media, be hateful, and kind of give their opinions where they're not really needed."
Fortunately, Savannah seems to have a good head on her shoulders, and knows that she
can't let the haters get to her.
While fans of "Chrisley Knows Best" may suspect that some of the show is scripted, or that
the Chrisley family is different when the cameras are rolling, that doesn't mean they
aren't going through real issues on the show.
That's certainly the case for Savannah Chrisley, who has talked about some extremely personal
details on "Chrisley Knows Best."
She dished to Entertainment Tonight:
"For me, I go through all my relationship ups and downs and I talk about struggling with endometriosis.
I have a doctor telling me, 'Alright, you need to finish having kids by the time you're 30.'"
That means you'll see Savannah discussing her options with her doctor, such as freezing
her eggs, which is about as real and intimate as it gets.
Additionally, Todd Chrisley has let "Chrisley Knows Best" fans into some serious issues
as well, namely when it came to the health of his brother, Randy Chrisley; Todd opened
up about the matter, sharing that Randy had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.
From the looks of things on "Chrisley Knows Best," the entire Chrisley family is pretty
healthy and full of vitality.
However, Todd Chrisley went through some seriously intense sickness when he contracted COVID-19
in March of 2020.
It was his youngest daughter, Savannah, who broke the news to the public.
At the time, he felt sick so he got tested, and when the result was positive, Todd quarantined at home.
"I was so physically sick that I could not get out of the bed.
When I would have to get out of the bed I felt like I was going to pass out."
However, about a week later, Todd's symptoms got so severe that he told his wife to take
him to the hospital, where he had to stay by himself in isolation.
Fortunately for the Chrisley family and their many fans around the world, Todd made a full recovery.
"Chrisley Knows Best" is a successful reality television series that has proven it attracts
viewers and keeps fans engaged.
It's been so well-received, in fact, that it inspired a spinoff show, "Growing Up Chrisley,"
starring Chase and Savannah Chrisley.
The program debuted in 2019, with Seasons 1 and 2 of the show following the siblings
as they try to make it in Los Angeles - a competitive and expensive place where it's not easy to thrive.
"You look exactly like James Dean right now."
"The guy that makes the sausages?"
"Yeah."
Apparently, ratings for Seasons 1 and 2 of "Growing Up Chrisley" were good enough to
warrant renewal for a third season.
And though production on that season was delayed significantly amid the many disruptions of
2020, Season 3 of "Growing Up Chrisley" has finally arrived on TV screens.
This installment of episodes shakes things up for the series, seeing Chase and Savannah
back in Nashville, having returned from their adventures in Southern California.
It's not surprising to learn that racism hasn't been a huge issue for the stars of "Chrisley Knows Best."
However, the whole squad got a crash course in racism after Kyle's then-girlfriend Angela
Johnson gave birth to Chloe.
For a variety of reasons, Todd and Julie Chrisley have full custody of their granddaughter,
who also appears on the show.
Well, the Chrisleys got to see racism in action when racist bullies started showing their
true colors in the comments section.
The toxic posts that people wrote took the family by surprise.
Todd confessed in an interview with People:
"We had never dealt with racism.
We have learned that it's a very prevalent situation in this country.
And we learned that, unfortunately, the hard way with negative things that were said about
[Chloe] on social media."
Protective patriarch that he is, Todd wasn't going to stand by and let anything hurt his grandchild.
To that end, he spearheaded efforts to educate himself and his family, and took a public
stand against racism.
"We made a conscious decision that she is our child.
She is our family member, and we're not going to be a part of anything that causes her to
feel less than."
At the end of the day, no matter what being a reality television star brings with it,
Julie Chrisley seems to have her head on straight despite it all.
In fact, she has a message for viewers of "Chrisley Knows Best," which she shared with StyleBlueprint:
"I want our fans to know that we, as a family, feel blessed that you bring us into your lives
each week, and that we consider this a privilege that you allow us to live out our lives and
hopefully impact others in a positive way."
Julie also said that she has educated her children to internalize this gratitude, and
that they all strive to "pay it forward."
As for Savannah Chrisley, she also recognizes that she's been able to have a positive impact on viewers.
She explained in an interview with people:
"Growing up on TV has had [its] pros and cons, but overall it's given us a platform to help
others and meet a lot of people.
I don't think we can complain too much."
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