Savannah Chrisley is sharing how her parents’ imprisonment has impacted her niece, Chloe, 11, and younger brother, Grayson, 18, saying it’s left them “debilitated.”
During the Tuesday, Oct. 1, episode of her podcast, Unlocked, Savannah, 27, read the personal letter she wrote to the judge overseeing her mother Julie’s ongoing prison sentence, detailing the impact it’s had on Chloe and Grayson, whom she’s been raising since her parents’ imprisonment for fraud and tax evasion.
“Chloe is struggling in school despite the resources I’ve tried to provide. Both she and Grayson wrestle with anxiety and depression that sometimes leaves them debilitated,” Savannah said of Chloe, the biological daughter of Todd’s estranged son Kyle; her parents adopted Chloe in 2016.
Savannah Chrisley with Chloe. Savannah Chrisley Instagram
“I’m fighting with every ounce of my being to keep them from becoming another statistic: children of incarcerated parents who lose their way. They’re brilliant, beautiful souls with the potential to change the world and I don’t want this world to break them. But I can’t do it alone.”
Savannah started raising her niece and brother after their mother Julie, 51, was sentenced to seven years in prison, while her husband, Todd Chrisley, 55, was given a 12-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. They were sentenced in November 2022 and started serving their sentences in January 2023.
A judge granted Julie’s appeal and vacated her seven-year sentence in June due to insufficient evidence — while Todd’s sentence was upheld. However, last week, on Sept. 25, the judge upheld her sentence. Savannah said it’s been a struggle to raise her niece and brother and shared details in her letter with the judge.
Savannah Chrisley, Todd and Julie Chrisley.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/ACMA2017/Getty Images
“I love Grayson and Chloe with all my heart, but no matter how much I provide for them, I know I can never truly give them what their mother can,” Savannah wrote, adding that Chloe keeps asking when Julie is coming home.
“She asked me, ‘Do you think mom will be home to teach me to drive, or will mom be here for my first high school dance?’ Her questions are constant and the uncertainty is heartbreaking. Grayson, my sweet brother, tells me that I saved him, but the truth is he saved me more times than I can count these past two years.”
“We face the challenges of parenting together, navigating the struggles of school, home life, and simply surviving, but I feel the strain every day as I juggle raising them,” she said.
“As a single woman running a one-income household, it often feels like no matter how hard I work, it’s never quite enough,” the Chrisley Knows Best alum said. “My mother has missed so many of the moments that define a family. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Chloe entering middle school and starting cheerleading, Grayson’s last baseball season, senior year, prom, and now the college admissions process. All moments when children need their parents most.”
