About Todd & Julie Chrisley, reality stars in prison for tax evasion – Tallahassee Democrat
- Todd and Julie Chrisley starred in “Chrisley Knows Best,” a USA Network reality TV series that followed their family’s over-the-top lifestyle
- Shows involved the Chrisley family (“Chrisley Knows Best,” “Growing Up Chrisley” and “Love Limo”) have been canceled
- The Chrisleys lived in Atlanta and Nashville. Julie Chrisley will serve her prison time in Lexington, Kentucky, while Todd began serving his 12-year sentence in Pensacola
The Chrisleys have traded their luxurious lifestyle for prison time.
Disgraced reality TV star Julie Chrisley will serve her prison time in Lexington, Kentucky, following her conviction in a federal tax-evasion case.
On Tuesday, Julie Chrisley, 50, was scheduled to self-report to the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, an “administrative security federal medical center with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp,” the prison’s website says.
She was originally set to serve her time in the federal prison camp in Marianna, Florida, about two-and-a-half hours away from Pensacola, where her husband, Todd Chrisley, 54, began serving his 12-year sentence, court records say. It is not clear why she was instead rerouted to the Kentucky facility.
Chrisley matriarch:Reality TV star Julie Chrisley reassigned from Florida prison to federal medical center
Months after trial in AtlantaTodd and Julie Chrisley to report to Florida prisons
The Chrisleys, who portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons, gained fame with their USA Network reality show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which followed their tight-knit, boisterous family. They were found guilty in June of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans, which funded their luxurious lifestyle. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
Here are five things to know about the disgraced reality TV couple.
The Chrisleys …What we know about the reality TV family’s legal troubles
‘Chrisley Knows Best’ did so well there was a spinoff, after show and a dating show
In March 2014, USA Network found reality TV gold with a docuseries about a Southern family led by millionaires Todd and Julie Chrisley and a peek into their luxurious lifestyle in the suburbs of Atlanta. The series is called “Chrisley Knows Best.”
Season four documented the Chrisleys’ move from Atlanta to Nashville. According to USA Network, viewership for the first half of season five averaged 3.2 million viewers.
After the show was renewed for a sixth season in 2017, USA Network ordered eight episodes of an aftershow program called “According to Chrisley.” The aftershow followed a late-night talk show or variety show format with Todd Chrisley as host. Chrisley interviewed celebrities like actress Ali Landry, Christina Milian, Carmen Electra (“Baywatch”), Nicole Sullivan (“King of Queens,” “Sex Lives of College Girls”) and wrestler Chris Jericho.
In 2018 during the seventh season of “Chrisley Knows Best,” USA Network announced the spinoff, “Growing Up Chrisley.” That show focused on Chase and Savannah Chrisley as they road trip from Nashville to Los Angeles and attempt to break out on their own in the big city, according to SF Gate.
Despite the Chrisleys’ legal troubles, “Chrisley Knows Best” continued to air on USA Network. In 2022, it was picked up for a 10th season, while “Growing Up Chrisley” was renewed for a fourth. E! also announced the franchise was moving forward with a new dating series, “Love Limo,” hosted by Todd Chrisley, days before the trial was set to begin.
All three shows involving the Chrisley family have since been canceled. A check online shows “Chrisley Knows Best” is available to stream, but new episodes won’t air on USA Network.
On their show, nothing was off limits. Todd Chrisley mentioned his mom’s sexting
In 2017, Todd Chrisley made headlines for outing his 72-year-old mother’s sexting chain on “Chrisley Knows Best.”
In the season six premiere, Todd scrolled through his mom’s phone. According to ET Online, after seeing a string of flirty texts from a few mystery men, he demands of Nanny Faye, “Momma, what the hell are all these things on here, on your phone?” Todd’s wife, Julie, teases, “What’s wrong? You don’t want a new daddy?” Todd replies, “You are a sick, twisted individual.”
On the show, Todd Chrisley doesn’t shy away from sex talk, even giving The Sex Talk to his kids − on national TV.
Todd Chrisley addressed rumors of being gay
Todd Chrisley acknowledged the longtime speculation that he’s gay.
According to CNN, in 2017, the “Chrisley Knows Best” star addressed the topic and spoke out during a radio interview on “The Domenick Nati Show.” When the host asked if Chrisley was disappointed that the first Google search to pop up for him was, “is Todd Chrisley gay?” the reality TV star replied, “In order for it to disappoint me, it would mean that I don’t agree with someone being gay. I don’t believe that’s a choice that you make. I believe that you are the way God has made you.”
On the show, Chrisley celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary with wife Julie Chrisley.
Chrisley legal troubles: From indictment to sentencing
In 2019, Extra! reported the reality stars were in deep legal trouble. That year, Todd and Julie Chrisley were indicted on tax evasion charges in Georgia. The 12-count indictment accused Todd and Julie of bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, among other offenses. Accountant Peter Tarantino was also charged for conspiring and aiding the filing of a false tax return. “Just because you’re rich and on a TV show doesn’t mean that the law is not going to come get you when you commit a federal crime,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. BJay Pak said.
Before information about the indictment was made public, Todd Chrisley posted a note on Instagram, denying the charges, saying “a dark cloud has hung over his family’s head for the past seven years.” He claimed an unnamed employee “was stealing from the family, created false documents, forged their signatures and bugged their home.” He added on Instagram, “Not only do we know we’ve done nothing wrong, but we’ve got a ton of hard evidence and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it.”
The shows featuring the Chrisleys continued to air despite their legal troubles − up until the reality TV couple was sentenced to prison.
The Chrisleys had planned to open a ‘classy’ champagne bar in Nashville
According to the Tennessean, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, Todd and Julie Chisley announced in 2021 their plans to open a Southern home-cooking restaurant in Nashville, in addition to a “classy” champagne bar.
Cheers?Reality TV stars the Chrisleys wanted to open a champagne bar and restaurant in Tennessee
The Chrisleys, who moved from Atlanta to Nashville in 2015, told the Tennessean they were looking for a spot in Green Hills or Belle Meade. However, the pandemic and other roadblocks put a pause on those plans.
The Chrisleys also told The Tennessean they plan to open and run a “classy” champagne bar.
“We were approached to open a bar in downtown Nashville to utilize our name. We decided against that because we don’t drink and we don’t advocate alcohol,” Todd Chrisley told reporter Brad Schmitt.