Savannah Chrisley is defending her father amid complicated, ongoing family dynamics.
In the latest episode of her Unlockedpodcast, Savannah, 26, explained why her father Todd Chrisley — who is currently in prison for financial crimes — chooses not to speak to his eldest son Kyle Chrisley. In addition to Kyle’s history of substance abuse and run-ins with the law, fans of the Chrisley family have seen the ups and downs between father and son.
“My dad has every reason not to speak to Kyle,” she said. “Just because it’s your child doesn’t mean that you have to accept abuse. It doesn’t mean you have to accept manipulation and hate and all these things.”
(left to right) Savannah Chrisley, Todd Chrisley, Chase Chrisley, Graysonu Chrisley, Julie Chrisley, Kyle Chrisley, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell. Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal
Out of all the kids, Savannah said that she and her dad have the “strongest relationship” because they have always confided in one another with things they would never share with anyone else. She gets protective when Kyle speaks out about Todd because she believes it feels disingenuous.
“People will do anything for a little bit of fame or attention,” she said, noting how Kyle provides statements about their father on social media and to the press. “What I don’t process well is having Kyle play the victim to life circumstances he’s created. What I don’t do well with someone who has abused people his entire life now trying to play victim, trying to get people to feel bad for him.”
She continued, “Yes, my father has not spoken to him and that is because now, we are all at a place where we don’t have to be abused any further. We are allowed to create boundaries for ourselves.”
The Chrisley Knows Best alum noted that even the children in the family — referring to Chloe, Kyle’s daughter who Julie and Todd, and now Savannah, have custody of — have the right to create boundaries for the sake of their mental health, and Kyle is retaliating because those boundaries have been enforced.
“The people that get pissed off about you having boundaries are the same people that have benefited from you not having any,” she explained. “Of course, Kyle is going to get angry at the fact that my dad has created a boundary.”
On Father’s Day, Kyle took to his Instagram Stories in a since-expired post to share a message for his dad. Seen on a Reddit screenshot, on top of a photo of the two of them when Kyle was a baby, he wrote: “Happy Father’s Day Todd Chrisley.”
Below that, it read, “Even though you won’t talk to me… I miss your ‘goodnight I love you son’ texts more than you know. If only things were different…”
Savannah first confirmed the family’s estrangement from Kyle — and their sister Lindsie Chrisley — on the Oldish podcast in October 2023.
“My two oldest siblings are from my dad’s first marriage,” Savannah explained, per Parade. “Over the years, I feel like there’s been a lot of anger and resentment just over the fact that my parents were together [and] theirs weren’t. Then when the show [Chrisley Knows Best] came about, I feel like there was jealousy. There was a whole bunch of things that were involved.”
