Reflecting on the situation. Days before she and Todd Chrisley were sentenced to a combined 19 years behind bars, Julie Chrisley opened up about the lessons she learned from her legal troubles.
“I think about the situation that we’re dealing with right now, and I’m thinking about I’ve never gone out here and hurt a soul,” Julie, 47, explained on daughter Savannah Chrisley‘s “Unlocked” podcast, which was pre-taped released on Tuesday, November 29. “I have never gone out here and intentionally tried to do anything that I wasn’t supposed to do, and look where I’m standing right now. How is that right?”
In the pre-recorded episode, Julie discussed her state of mind after being found guilty of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in June. Savannah, 25, for her part, also slammed the justice system in response to her mother and father’s predicament.
“Why do we continue to fail people? It tears families apart,” Savannah said. “Look at everything that we’re going through. How is that just? It’s not when you’ve got rapists and murderers and traffickers and all these people out here but yet, what? They just get a slap on the wrist.”
She added: “It all goes down to us being in the public eye and someone wanting to prove a point. And it’s honestly sad. At this point, I feel like, for me, I’ve kinda become numb to it but that numbness has turned to anger, to where now, it’s just like I’m not giving up. There’s no other option.”
Shortly after recording the podcast, Julie was ordered to seven years in prison while her husband, 53, was issued a 12-year prison sentence.
“Yesterday was a difficult day for the Chrisley family,” the couple’s attorney, Alex Little, said in a statement to Us Weekly on November 22. “But Todd and Julie are people of faith, and that faith gives them strength as they appeal their convictions.”
The lawyer claimed that the pair’s trial was “marred by serious and repeated errors, including the government lying to jurors about what taxes the couple paid.” He concluded: “Based on these issues, we are optimistic about the road ahead.”
At the time, a source exclusively told Us that Julie was distraught after the judge’s official ruling. “She didn’t think she’d have to serve time and that she would be able to serve time from home,” the insider explained. “They have said they are being made an example of because they are public figures. But it’s all just excuses for their behavior instead of accepting it.”
Scroll down for Julie’s most candid comments amid her legal issues:
Reflecting on the situation. Days before she and Todd Chrisley were sentenced to a combined 19 years behind bars, Julie Chrisley opened up about the lessons she learned from her legal troubles.
“I think about the situation that we’re dealing with right now, and I’m thinking about I’ve never gone out here and hurt a soul,” Julie, 47, explained on daughter Savannah Chrisley‘s “Unlocked” podcast, which was pre-taped released on Tuesday, November 29. “I have never gone out here and intentionally tried to do anything that I wasn’t supposed to do, and look where I’m standing right now. How is that right?”
In the pre-recorded episode, Julie discussed her state of mind after being found guilty of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in June. Savannah, 25, for her part, also slammed the justice system in response to her mother and father’s predicament.
“Why do we continue to fail people? It tears families apart,” Savannah said. “Look at everything that we’re going through. How is that just? It’s not when you’ve got rapists and murderers and traffickers and all these people out here but yet, what? They just get a slap on the wrist.”
She added: “It all goes down to us being in the public eye and someone wanting to prove a point. And it’s honestly sad. At this point, I feel like, for me, I’ve kinda become numb to it but that numbness has turned to anger, to where now, it’s just like I’m not giving up. There’s no other option.”
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Shortly after recording the podcast, Julie was ordered to seven years in prison while her husband, 53, was issued a 12-year prison sentence.
“Yesterday was a difficult day for the Chrisley family,” the couple’s attorney, Alex Little, said in a statement to Us Weekly on November 22. “But Todd and Julie are people of faith, and that faith gives them strength as they appeal their convictions.”
The lawyer claimed that the pair’s trial was “marred by serious and repeated errors, including the government lying to jurors about what taxes the couple paid.” He concluded: “Based on these issues, we are optimistic about the road ahead.”
At the time, a source exclusively told Us that Julie was distraught after the judge’s official ruling. “She didn’t think she’d have to serve time and that she would be able to serve time from home,” the insider explained. “They have said they are being made an example of because they are public figures. But it’s all just excuses for their behavior instead of accepting it.”
Scroll down for Julie’s most candid comments amid her legal issues:
Credit: Tommy Garcia/USA Network
Addressing Her Legal Woes
Ahead of her sentencing, Julie said she never “intentionally tried” to do anything she “wasn’t supposed” to do.
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Dealing With the Ups and Downs
Julie noted that she still asks herself why her family has faced personal struggles, saying, “I know what I’ve done. More important, I know what I haven’t done.”
Credit: Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock
The Lack of Support
During the podcast, Savannah called out the people who didn’t stand by her mother and father’s side.
“Dad’s never been huge on friends because he’s always said that he’s got what he needs in all of us. His circle is very small,” she shared with Julie. “I’ve watched you struggle with certain people that haven’t reached out to you — people that you’ve known for years, either since you were a child or 20 years, whatever it may be. To not reach out is pretty s–tty.”
Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Trying to Look at the Positive
While discussing her legal woes, Julie attempted to reason why she didn’t receive any support from certain friends.
“Maybe they feel awkward. I don’t know what. I don’t know why. I can’t imagine,” she said. “I am just the type of person where if I am your friend, I am your friend. I am your friend whether we have two dollars combined together or we’ve got millions, whether things are going great or whether our worlds are falling apart, whether our kids are great or whether they’ve lost their way. That’s just who I am.”
Julie questioned whether the people in their life “don’t know what” to say to them, adding, “I think some people, they feel maybe that by reaching out to me, they can tarnish themselves or make themselves look bad. Well listen, that’s on you because I know what I’ve done. More importantly, I know what I haven’t done.”
Savannah, however, reflected on how “grateful” she felt for those still in her corner. “I’ve always kept my friend group small. I’ve honestly had more people reach out that have shocked me than people that haven’t,” she admitted. “For that, I’m grateful.”
Credit: Tommy Garcia/USA Network
Working Through the Anger
According to Savannah, the personal ups and downs have changed her outlook on life. “It just fuels me and gives me the strength to keep moving instead of just sitting and sulking in it,” she detailed, noting her intentions to turn her “hurt into anger” to help herself. “Because if I sit and sulk in it, then it’s going to lead me down a road that I don’t need to be at.”
The TV personality concluded: “So, therefore, I’m going to use it as anger and motivation but that’s not the best either.”
Credit: NBCUniversal
How Their Family Has Been Affected
During the episode, Savannah opened up about her brother Grayson Chrisley‘s accident. Days before his parents’ sentencing, the 16-year-old totaled his car and potentially suffered a head injury.
“The crazy part about the whole thing — and it shows you how people interpret things differently — is obviously with all the legal stuff you have going on the first thing Grayson said was, ‘This is the last thing everyone needed,'” Savannah revealed about the timing of the situation. “Even when we came home from the hospital, you could see the fear in [my adopted sister] Chloe [Chrisley]‘s face.”
