Fans met Savannah Chrisley when her family's hit reality show,
"Chrisley Knows Best," premiered in 2014. And ever since, viewers have watched the
pageant princess blossom into an ambitious young woman. Now that she's in her twenties,
she's busier than ever. Here's a look at her stunning transformation.
Savannah hails from Atlanta, Georgia. The modern-day Southern belle is Todd and Julie
Chrisley's second child — and she credits her older brother, Chase, for coming up
with the nickname that perfectly captures her personality. She wrote on her website,
"Being only 14 months apart, [Chase] could never pronounce Savannah, therefore 'Sassy' stuck."
Rounding out the blended family, Savannah's parents would later welcome their youngest
son Grayson. Todd also has two children from a previous marriage,
Kyle and Lindsie. Later, Todd and Julie were awarded custody of Kyle's daughter, Chloe.
Savannah once described her niece as, quote, "basically my baby sister" in an Instagram post.
While she says he was her biggest fan, Savannah lost her beloved grandfather in 2012.
A few months after his death, Savannah tweeted:
"It's times like these when I really need
you. […] I'd give everything I own for you to be right here with me!!"
But that loss wasn't the only challenge the family was facing. That same year,
her mother, Julie, underwent a successful double mastectomy
after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Savannah shared on Instagram,
"She wanted no sympathy from anyone. That's just my strong willed mama for you."
"You look awesome. And your boobs; phenomenal."
"You have no idea how great they look."
"Ok…"
But the family had little time to recover from a tumultuous year before their lives
changed forever. In December 2013, the first eight-episode season of "Chrisley Knows Best"
was ordered by the USA Network. And life for the Chrisley's would never be the same.
Before the show, Savannah was just a typical teenage girl, who went to private school and
spent her time horseback-riding and cheerleading. But by 2014, she was a full-fledged reality star
with each of her milestone moments airing on TV. She spent her Sweet Sixteen in front of
the cameras, and struggled to learn how to drive, before a national audience.
"What am I doing wrong?"
"Everything, cuz you're talkin' too much."
Savannah may have been a teen, but she still made the rounds on the press circuit.
She promoted the series on "The View," and rubbed elbows with other reality stars,
like "Vanderpump Rules" O.G.'s Jax Taylor and Scheana Shay.
"Chrisley Knows Best" was picked up for a second season, and Savannah had plenty
to share with fans; her modeling career was taking off, and she was pursuing her dream of
becoming a pageant queen — even competing in the Miss High School America pageant,
where she represented California. Post-show, she wrote on Facebook,
"I didn't go on to win, but I did make [the] top 15!! Everything happens for a
reason!! On to bigger and better things!" When it comes to dating, it appears that
Todd initially had some very specific rules for his daughter. As he said on the show in 2014,
"I don't have any rules for Savannah for dating, because Savannah's not gonna be dating."
Still, by 2015, Savannah was romantically involved with country singer Blaire Hanks,
much to her Facebook followers' surprise. When she shared a few
photos snapped during their dates, one fan wrote:
"How in the world did you get out of the house? Is your dad a row or two back?"
On the show, viewers saw Todd's knee-jerk reaction to the new man in his daughter's life.
He conducted a background check on Blaire before stalking the lovebirds while they were
out on a date; hiding in his SUV. But after all that, Todd eventually seemed to warm to Blaire.
And it appeared that Savannah's modeling career was going just as swimmingly as her love life,
in 2015. That February, she even walked in a Sherri Hill Fashion
Week runway show with "Duck Dynasty" star Sadie Robertson.
2016 was a big year for Savannah. She was attending Belmont University in Nashville,
while also making appearances at star-studded events like the ACM Awards. She celebrated landing
on the Harper's Bazaar best-dressed list after walking the red carpet in a Diana Couture design.
But her fans may not have been evolving as fast as she was. One Facebook user wrote of her outfit:
"This doesn't represent a virtuous, Christian woman. You are beautiful,
sweet girl. You don't need to cheapen God's gift by this kind of clothing."
Others expressed surprise that dad Todd even let her wear the dress.
Still, he was all smiles with his daughter at the event.
"I'm Savannah Chrisley, Miss Tennessee Teen."
A few months later, Savannah served up even more glam at the Miss Teen USA pageant.
And in 2015, she was crowned Miss Tennessee Teen USA. After she was knocked out in the semi-finals,
Savannah confessed that she took the loss hard. She posted on Instagram,
"I am officially a has-been. […] This year has been one crazy year but I wouldn't trade it
for the world! God has been way too good to me and I don't deserve it. I'm honestly so sad!"
Savannah kicked off a rollercoaster ride of a year, in 2017, with a scary car wreck
that landed her in the hospital. She took to Facebook to explain that she had crashed into
a guardrail after glancing down at the floor mat that was caught under the pedals. Savannah
ultimately suffered a broken vertebra that required her to wear a neck brace. She posted:
"The past couple of days have been some of the toughest days for me. And I truly think
that God has made them so difficult because I began straying away from Him and His word."
Savannah vowed to focus more on her faith, and she even gave her newly minted clothing line
the fitting name, "Faith Over Fear." A few months later, she told People,
"That's just something that I have lived by for a while now."
For his part, Todd was feeling all the emotions when the family took
a trip to look at Savannah's totaled car. He said,
"I don't care about the car — that can be replaced. But you cannot be replaced in my heart."
On a much lighter note, the family kept their signature sense of humor going,
despite the serious circumstances, by taking care of — and slightly annoying — Savannah on the show.
"Do the choo-choo train. Aww, how sweet!"
Savannah made a few style choices that had her fans — and her family — scratching their heads,
in 2017. For the second time, she shocked her fans with her ACM Awards dress;
which had her Facebook users playing fashion police once again. One user wrote,
"Savannah I am so disappointed in this choice of attire.
It grieves my soul that you feel You must sacrifice modesty to be beautiful."
"This is a family channel, so therefore we're not gonna let all of this be seen on television."
But this time, the reality star defended the look
and her freedom to choose it. She explained to People,
"I just had to do a couple of things to let people
know that I am a woman now. I'm no longer a little girl."
She admitted that her dad wasn't a total fan of the dress,
but Todd seemed to reserve his sauciest barbs for the new man in her life:
basketball player Luke Kennard. Savannah went public with the relationship when she attended
the NBA draft to support the future Detroit Pistons player. But the romance only lasted
four months, much to her father's relief. As he cryptically mentioned to People,
"I mean, hell, when you crawl into bed with a snake, don't b---- when it bites."
As for Savannah, she told E! that she decided to end things with Luke after suspecting that
he may have been stepping out on her. Savannah used to describe herself as a
"cleat chaser" when it came to her love life, but in 2018, she fell for an athlete with
bladed footwear: hockey player Nic Kerdiles. She wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post,
"It's kinda crazy how God works! After spending months of focusing on ME […] you came along."
And it wasn't long before Nic was appearing on "Chrisley Knows Best."
While Todd initially played the role of overly-protective dad, Nic's pleasant
personality soon won him over. Meanwhile, Savannah confessed that she was actually
the one who was hard on Nic at the beginning of their relationship due to her past heartbreak. And
it was Todd who helped her realize she was being unfair. She said on the "Hollywood Life" podcast,
"My dad told me, 'You can't make someone else suffer for a past person's mistakes.'"
But a budding relationship wasn't the only exciting news she had to share in 2018.
Savannah also revealed that she and brother Chase would be "road tripping" to Los Angeles — with
Nanny Faye in tow, of course — for their new spinoff series, "Growing Up Chrisley."
"Nic has asked Julie and I for Savannah's hand in marriage."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not kidding you!." Savannah and Nic got engaged on December 24th,
2018, but the couple kept their happy news a secret until April of the following year.
Savannah told People that she was "furious" because "Chrisley Knows
Best" was filming on Christmas Eve. But soon enough, she figured out why.
"Will you marry me?"
"Oh my gosh!…Yes!"
But Savannah had a lot more on her mind besides wedding planning, in 2019.
That August, her parents were indicted on charges of tax evasion,
wire fraud conspiracy, and bank fraud in what would mark the start of a long legal battle.
She was also busy with her new gig as a South Beach Diet partner. But the reality TV star
admitted that she wasn't happy when she learned that she wouldn't be allowed to Photoshop her
promotional photos, saying on the "Chrisley Confessions" podcast, "I was mortified."
Luckily, a pixie cut offered the star a much-needed confidence boost.
She explained that she had to cut her hair because it had gotten so damaged from chemical dye. Still,
Todd viewed it as a sign that her mental health was in decline when he saw it for the first time.
"Are you having a breakdown? Why would you do something like that?"
But Savannah was all about the Miley Cyrus-inspired results, later revealing that
the new look made her feel totally empowered. For Savannah — and the rest of the world — 2020
was a year full of ups and downs. Her father faced a major health scare when he was hospitalized with
COVID, which was a frightening ordeal for the rest of the family. Savannah posted on Instagram,
"At one point I fell on my hands and knees and begged God to not take him […] to not
take my best friend […] I would give [up] everything I had if it meant keeping my daddy."
Thankfully, Todd soon recovered. But that wouldn't be the last of the struggles.
The following month, Savannah revealed to Todd on the "Chrisley Confessions" podcast that she
and Nic were enrolled in therapy after deciding to call off their engagement.
By that September, they had officially split. Savannah said on Instagram,
"There's no hatred between the two of us. And
in all honesty […] that makes saying goodbye even harder."
Luckily, this reality star had plenty going on in her life to distract her from her heartbreak.
She was studying for her real estate exam, and starring in the music video
for Chase Martin's single, "Levi Denim." She also launched her new cosmetics brand,
Sassy by Savannah, telling New Beauty,
"I wanted a great product, but also for it to be extremely affordable. […] It
makes me so happy that people are finding such joy in the products I'm creating."
"Everyone's loving it. So I'm excited." While we're all well-aware that much of
reality TV may be scripted or staged, Savannah offers her fans plenty of real moments, too.
She has confessed to getting a nose job, lip filler, and Botox, and she's gotten candid about
the body image issues she dealt with during her pageant days. She said on "Chrisley Confessions,"
"I was way too thin. I was eating once a day, working out twice a day. It was not healthy."
"This has just been such a challenge for so many years."
In an emotional Facebook post, she also revealed her endometriosis diagnosis.
In 2020, Savannah underwent a third surgery because the condition was causing her so
much pain. But post-procedure, the reality star got some good news:
She wouldn't have to worry about fertility issues in the future. She said in an Instagram video,
"I've always said that God meant for me to be a mother. I feel like
that's my big role here in life." Until then, Savannah is clearly set
on building her empire. And, of course, she has the rest of the Chrisley clan to
keep her on her toes while she does it. Check out one of our newest videos right
here! Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite reality stars are coming soon.
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