Inside Todd and Julie Chrisley’s Relationship

Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley’s marriage has seen its fair share of ups and downs.

The couple, who have been married since 1996, first rose to fame in 2014 as the stars of their eponymous reality show, Chrisley Knows Best. The series, which was billed as the southern version of the Kardashians, followed Todd and Julie and their children as they lived their lavish lifestyle — first, in a 30,000-square-foot mansion in Atlanta, and then, in two equally opulent Nashville homes. The show, which aired on USA Network for 10 seasons, was an instant hit and cemented the Chrisleys as reality television stars.

But Todd and Julie have also had their struggles over the years. They’ve weathered illness (Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012), family strife (including an ongoing estrangement from Todd’s son from a previous marriage, Kyle) and legal troubles (the couple were convicted of tax and bank fraud in 2022). After spending 28 months behind bars, the Chrisleys were pardoned by President Donald Trump on May 27, 2025, and released from federal prison the next day.

Throughout it all, the Chrisleys’ love for one another has remained strong. In his first press conference following his pardon and release from prison, Todd took the time to gush about his wife of nearly 30 years — referring to Julie as his “best friend” who has been through “all the ups and downs” of life with him.

“It was great to be home,” Todd said. “No matter where that is, as long as she’s there, it’s home.”

From their first encounter to their latest reality television venture, The Chrisleys: Back to Reality, which premieres on Lifetime on Sept. 1, here is everything to know about Todd and Julie Chrisley’s marriage.

Todd and Julie were both previously married

Todd and Julie were both married once before saying “I do” to each other.

Todd wed his high school girlfriend, Teresa Terry, with whom he shares daughter Lindsie, born in 1989, and son Kyle, born in 1991.

Julie, meanwhile, was married to Keith Wayne Childress, according to the Los Angeles Times. The couple had no children together and eventually split.

They first met at a friend’s house

Todd and Julie first crossed paths when Julie showed up at Todd’s friend’s house — and Todd was instantly smitten, he revealed on an episode of their podcast Chrisley Confessions.

“She walked into my friend’s house, and it was during the winter months, and I remember when she walked in and she smiled, I thought, ‘She has got the most beautiful smile I have ever seen,’ ” Todd said.

He added, “She’s the only woman who has ever literally touched my soul.”

But while Todd may have fallen head over heels, Julie, however, played hard to get from the moment they met, according to their daughter Savannah.

“I’ve read parts of the book that he’s working on, and I was just sobbing, just because he talks about the first time he saw my mother, how he felt, how he would just go into the bank just to be able to see her,” she shared on a June 2023 episode of her podcast Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley. “And she wouldn’t give him the time of day.”

Julie initially turned down Todd’s proposal

Todd first proposed to Julie after she became pregnant with their first child together — and Julie said no, twice, according to Savannah. Julie’s hesitation stemmed from a combination of factors, including “getting pregnant out of wedlock,” having a preacher for a father and Todd’s previous divorce, Savannah detailed on her podcast.

“I think of my mom in her early 20s when she got pregnant with Chase, so my older brother, who’s 14 months older than me,” Savannah shared. “My dad had just come off a divorce, he had two kids, and my mom was the preacher’s daughter in a small, one stoplight town in South Carolina — preacher’s daughter. Everyone knew everyone.”

Instead, Julie planned to raise her child on her own — with Todd’s involvement as a co-parent, not a spouse.

“She got pregnant, and she told my dad, she was like, ‘I am not marrying you. This is my baby. I’m gonna raise my baby. If you want to be involved in his life you can, but I’m raising my child,’” Savannah revealed.

Savannah continued, “She told him, she was like, ‘I’m not marrying you, just for you to make the same mistake you made with your first wife.”

But despite two rejections from Julie, Todd persisted. It paid off, and Julie eventually agreed to marry him. The couple said “I do” on May 25, 1996, when Julie was nine months pregnant with the eldest child, son Chase. She gave birth one week later, on June 1, 1996.

“He asked her twice, and she told him no. And now, look at ’em, 27 years later,” Savannah said.

Todd and Julie have three children together

In addition to his two children with his first wife Teresa Terry (Lindsie and Kyle), Todd has three children with Julie: Chase, Savannah and Grayson Chrisley.

After welcoming Chase in June 1996, Todd and Julie had their second child, daughter Savannah, 14 months later in August 1997. Their third and youngest child, son Grayson, was born on May 16, 2006. Todd and Julie also adopted their granddaughter Chloe, who is the daughter of Todd’s estranged son Kyle and a woman named Angela Johnson, in 2016. The Chrisleys took in Chloe amidst Kyle’s legal issues and struggles with substance abuse.

The Chrisley children all appeared on the family’s reality show, Chrisley Knows Best, beginning in 2014. Growing up on-screen came with its own pros and cons, Savannah and Chase revealed to PEOPLE in 2020.

“It definitely changed our lives entirely,” Chase shared at the time. “It forced us to grow up fast.”

Savannah added, “Growing up on TV … There was a lot of pressure to be perfect … 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.”

Todd helped Julie through her breast cancer diagnosis in 2012

From Julie’s breast cancer diagnosis to her double mastectomy, Todd was a pillar of support for his wife. After two friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, Todd pushed for Julie to receive a mammogram in 2012 — even though she was only 39 years old with no family history.

“I did it to appease him so he would shut up and leave me alone,” Julie told The Tennessean in 2018.

The mammogram, plus additional imaging and a biopsy, revealed a diagnosis of breast cancer. For treatment, Julie opted for a double mastectomy — and Todd was by her side as she recovered from the intense operation. It was an experience that ultimately strengthened their marriage, Julie revealed in the interview.

“I truly believe that that moment took our relationship to a whole other level because he never flinched,” she said. “He was in the shower with me, he took all of my bandages off, and he never flinched.”

Todd and Julie were convicted of bank and tax fraud in 2022 and sentenced to jail time

In August 2019, the Chrisleys were indicted by a federal grand jury on 12 counts of bank and wire fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy. Prosecutors accused the reality stars of creating false documents to secure $30 million in bank loans in order to pay for their over-the-top lifestyle — and then filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying the more than $20 million they owed. Additionally, the Chrisleys allegedly lied about the millions of dollars they earned from Chrisley Knows Best and created a shell company to reportedly hide assets from the IRS.

The Chrisleys turned themselves in and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Instead, Todd claimed in a lengthy Instagram post that a former “trusted employee” had been “stealing” from them for the past seven years, as well as “creating phony documents, forging our signatures, and threatening other employees with violence if they said anything.”

“We fired the guy and took him to court — and that’s when the real trouble started,” Todd wrote. “To get revenge, he took a bunch of his phony documents to the U.S. Attorney’s office and told them we had committed all kinds of financial crimes, like tax evasion and bank fraud.”

Todd and Julie’s federal fraud trial began in May 2022 in Atlanta. At the conclusion of the three-week trial, the couple were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud. Julie was also found guilty of wire fraud. They faced up to 30 years in prison as a result of their convictions.

“Both Chrisleys are devastated and disappointed with the verdict and will be pursuing an appeal,” the pair’s lawyer Steve Friedberg told PEOPLE at the time.

In November 2022, the Chrisleys received their sentences: A federal judge sentenced Todd to 12 years in prison and 16 months probation, while Julie received seven years in prison and 16 months probation. They began their prison sentences on Jan. 17, 2023 — with Todd reporting to Florida’s Federal Prison Camp Pensacola and Julie entering the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky.

Todd and Julie went two years without speaking while in prison

While serving their federal prison sentences, the Chrisleys were unable to communicate with each other for nearly two years, their daughter Savannah confirmed to PEOPLE in February 2025.

“They don’t get to speak. It’s been two years, and they haven’t spoken a word to each other,” Savannah revealed. “They’ve been together almost 30 years, and they’ve never gone a day in their life without being with one another. That’s been a challenge. That should never happen.”

Todd and Julie, who were in prisons 650 miles apart, were unable to write letters or speak on the phone to each other. Their only form of communication was email, but that was often “delayed,” according to Savannah.

“I miss Todd so much that it hurts. I’ve never gone this long without talking to him,” Julie wrote in a letter from prison sent to Savannah.

Savannah was outraged on behalf of her parents. “There should never be a time where they keep them from communicating, and they do,” she said. “They interfere with emails, they interfere with mail. There was mail theft and fraud at my dad’s facility that I’m still not going to allow that person to get away with.”

As a result of her parents’ experience behind bars, Savannah began work as a prison reform activist and campaigned for President Trump to pardon her parents’ case — while also serving as the legal guardian of her two youngest siblings, Chloe and Grayson. Throughout her parents’ ordeal, Savannah remained positive and persistent.

“It sucks that my parents are going through what they’re going through but we’re going to take this and make something great out of it,” Savannah said. “And in the end, the government will not win.”

The Chrisleys were pardoned by President Trump in May 2025 and reunited after two years apart

More than two years into their prison sentences, the Chrisleys were granted a full pardon by President Trump on May 27, 2025.

Savannah celebrated the news in a statement, saying: “For the past two and a half years, I’ve done everything in my power to fight for my parents’ freedom and bring them home. This moment is the answer to countless prayers, and I am beyond grateful to President Trump for seeing the truth and restoring my family.”

The couple were reunited for the first time in more than two years on May 29, 2025 — just days after their 29th wedding anniversary. Savannah captured the moment on Instagram Stories, sharing a photo of Todd and Julie’s legs as they sat facing each other and writing, “Reunited and it feels so good!”

Todd and Julie later discussed their reunion on a July episode of their Chrisley Confessions 2.0 podcast. In a brutally honest exchange, Todd admitted to being shocked by Julie’s appearance — particularly her hair color, which had gone from bright blonde to dark brunette.

“I’m not gonna lie, I first saw you, when I got out of that car, I started thinking about going back [to prison],” Todd quipped. “But then I thought, let me embrace this.”

He explained further: “I mean it was a rough moment. It was a rough moment because I’d never seen you dark in my life. Julie, 30 years, I’ve never seen you with dark hair.”

Julie also admitted to being “nervous” to see her husband after more than two years apart.

“I was a little nervous,” Julie said in an interview with ABC News Studios that aired on Good Morning America in June. “Just because, you know, you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been away this long.’ But then, when I saw him, it was as if no time had passed.”

Todd and Julie addressed divorce rumors following their presidential pardon

Following their release from prison, Todd and Julie spoke about the state of their marriage in a July episode of Savannah’s podcast Unlocked. During the podcast appearance, the couple were asked about rumors they were breaking up since receiving their pardons from President Trump.

“No. No. Let me set the record straight,” Julie insisted. “We are not getting divorced. I actually think that we settled back in fairly easy.”

Despite spending more than two years apart with little to no contact while they were held in separate federal prisons, Todd revealed he never felt “away” from his wife of nearly 30 years.

“In my mind, I was never away from her,” the Chrisley family patriarch explained. “I would tell her in the emails every day, I said, ‘I’m with you every step you take.’ And I’d say, ‘And feel my love surrounding you at all times.’ So when I went to bed at night, she was right there with me. When I woke up and I did my prayers, she was right there with me. And that’s how I survived it.”

That mindset “allowed us to really just come back together,” Julie added.

Todd and Julie are returning to reality television following their release from prison

Though their three reality television series — Chrisley Knows Best, Growing Up Chrisley and Love Limo — were all canceled in the wake of their sentencing, the Chrisleys are returning to reality television in September 2025.

The Chrisley family revealed in August 2023 that a new reality series was in the works. The untitled project was officially greenlit by Lifetime in May 2025, just days before Todd and Julie were granted a presidential pardon.

The new series, titled The Chrisleys: Back to Reality, promises to expose “the raw truth of their lives — past and present.” It will follow the famous family — including Todd and Julie, Chase, Savannah, Grayson, Chloe and Nanny Faye — navigating their new normal as the couple “are eventually pardoned, released from prison and return home.” The series also “shows a side of the Chrisleys that has never been seen before with exclusive access to the family,” including Julie’s parents, Harvey and Pam, appearing on-screen for the first time.

The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premieres in a two-night event on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime, with a finale airing on Sept. 16.

In addition to their upcoming reality television series, the Chrisleys sat down for an interview with ABC News Studios that aired on Good Morning America in June. In the conversation, Todd opened up about his and Julie’s plans for the future, including where they hope to relocate.

“You know, I think we will always have a presence in Nashville, but I have a pull for Julie and I to go back to South Carolina — to Charleston — to that area. And we have plans for what we wanna do,” Todd revealed.

He continued, “We have hopes of acquiring a hotel — a mansion — there, that we are gonna convert into a hotel, and we’re gonna create a show around that.”