Lindsie, Julie and Todd Chrisley. Shutterstock(2)
Opening up. Lindsie Chrisley shared her first official statement since her father, Todd Chrisley, and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison for tax crimes.
“I wanted to take a minute and first of all, say thank you to all of our [“Coffee Convos” podcast] listeners that have reached out to me the past few weeks regarding my family,” the reality star, 33, told HollywoodLife in a statement on Tuesday, December 6. “I wanted to take a step back and begin to process everything before speaking and making any statements. The past few months have been extremely hard for me and my family, and I am heartbroken over the updates in my parents’ case that occurred late last month.”
Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, were sentenced to 12 years and seven years in prison, respectively, on November 21 after their June conviction for bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Lindsie, whom Todd shares with ex-wife Teresa Terry, hadn’t previously issued a public statement on the sentencing.
Julie and Todd Chrisley. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
“I know some of the media has tried to twist my response to this and make it something it’s not, but at the end of the day, there is no tea here,” she continued on Tuesday. “I am heartbroken and navigating this process the best way I know how. At the end of the day, this is a real family, and these are real and raw emotions. With that being said, thank you all for your love, support and prayers. It really means the world to my family and me.”
The podcast host was previously estranged from her father, but the duo reconciled earlier this year when Todd and his wife went on trial. Lindsie, who testified on her dad’s behalf, later revealed that the trial wasn’t the reason for their reconciliation.
“I can confidently tell you there was no reconnection due to any legal reasons whatsoever,” she explained during a July episode of her “The Southern Tea” podcast. “Nothing like that ever transpired.”
The former USA Network personality noted that she and Todd got back in touch last year after she split from ex Will Campbell. “After my divorce stuff had become public, my dad had posted, ‘I’m here, I love you, whatever’s going on in your life right now I see it,’” she recalled. “That’s really more so how we were able to reconnect. So, to answer that question — in short, it was definitely because of my divorce.”
The Chrisley family attending the NBC Universal Summer Press Day, April 2016. Broadimage/Shutterstock
Last month, Lindsie detailed the way her parents’ sentencing will change the way her family celebrates the holidays. “In my family, we’ve always done Christmas very big and it’s always been a very exciting time of year,” she said during a November episode of her “The Southern Tea” podcast. “Our house was always decorated very magical, and my parents always were the best at Christmas. Obviously, with everything going on with my family, things look a lot different this year.”
In addition to Lindsie, Todd shares son Kyle, 31, with Terry. Todd and Julie, meanwhile, are the parents of Chase, 26, Savannah, 25, and Grayson, 16.
