ABC News In 2022, Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison for tax evasion, conspiracy and bank and wire fraud President Donald Trump pardoned them in 2025 The couple, along with their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, gave their first interviews to FOX News and ABC News a month after their release Todd ChrisleyandJulie Chrisleyhave a lot to say about their time behind bars. TheChrisley Knows Bestreality stars were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison after beingfound guiltyof bank and wire fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy in 2022. Though they denied the accusations, theyreported to separate prisonsto begin their sentences in 2023. After serving a little over two years, PresidentDonald Trumppardoned the couplefollowing a public campaign by their daughter,Savannah Chrisley. Todd, Julie and Savannah gave their first public interviews with FOX News and ABC News a month after their release on June 28 and 29, respectively. In the ABC News Studio's IMPACT X Nightline special, titledThe Chrisleys: Life After Lockup, Todd told host Juju Chang that he was "angry at God" during that first night in prison. "When I went to bed that night and the lights went out, I cried myself to sleep," he told Chang. "I said, 'God, why are you allowing this?' " The Chrisley patriarch went on to say that his time in prison helped him realize things he took for granted — like his ability to go to church, eat out or lounge in bed all day — and added that getting those little things back was "a blessing." Here are the 11 biggest bombshells from the Chrisley family's first interviews since prison. Danielle Del Valle/Getty When Chang asked the couple if they felt safe, Julie said that while she didn't fear that a person would harm her, she worried that the prison's conditions might. The reality star claimed that she developed asthma while incarcerated and "horrible breathing issues" that she didn't have prior. "I could see my health deteriorating," she said. "Things I never had an issue with before, now all of a sudden, became an issue." Michael Tran/FilmMagic After reporting to prison in January 2023, Todd was housed in a Florida prison while Julie was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky. The couple didn't see each otherfor two years. When they reunited in May 2025, Julie said that she was "a little nervous" to see her husband again. But when she saw him, she said, "It was as if no time had passed." "She was never away from me," Todd said in the interview. "Even the whole time we were apart. She was with me every second, every breath that I took. I mean, when I saw her, I was grateful to wrap my arms around her, but it was just more like, 'I'm home.' " Cynthia Hicks/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Todd and Julie told Chang that one of the most emotional moments of their release was reuniting with their daughter,Chloe Chrisley(whom theylegally adopted in 2016from Todd's son Kyle due to his ongoing struggles with substance abuse). The 12-year-old was so eager for her parents' return that she tracked their locations all the way home. "You know, even though we had gotten to see each other [during visitations], it's not the same as when you're home," Julie said inThe Chrisleys: Life After Lockup. "On our way home, she was literally watching on her phone — she was tracking where we were — to know how close I was." USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty During the Chrisleys' June 28 appearance onMy View with Lara Trump, Todd revealed that their son, Grayson, wanted tosleep in their roomthe first night they were back from prison. Savannah also recalled the evening, saying, "The first night he said, 'I'm scared to go to sleep because I feel like I'm just going to wake up in the morning and they're not going to be here.' " Cythina Hicks/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Todd told Chang that while his family will "always have a presence in Nashville," theyplan to relocateto Charleston, S.C. The historic city is where Todd and Julie are originally from. "I have a pull for Julie and I to go back to South Carolina — to Charleston — to that area," the Chrisley patriarch said. "And we have plans for what we wanna do." According to Todd, their plans for Charleston include renovating a mansion into a hotel and documenting the process for a reality series. As for Savannah, she said that she planned tomove outof the family's 5,000-square-foot Nashville home and into a condo. ABC News/Youtube Todd's former business associate, Mark Braddock, testified during their trial that he helped the couple falsify documents. In the ABC interview, Todd alleged that Braddock was the one who wrote the emails to their accountant asking about faking documents after hacking into his account. Braddock didn't appear inLife After Lockup, but denied being the mastermind behind the fraud during the trial. During the trial, Braddock also claimed that his relationship with Todd was more than just professional and said that they had been romantically involved. InLife After Lockup, Todd denied those accusations. "He's never approached me in that manner," he said. "Well, if I was going to do that, it wouldn't be with somebody that was broke. It wouldn't be with somebody that looks like him." Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty In addition to prison time, Julie and Todd were also sentenced to pay a combined $17 million in restitution. Though they told Chang that they paid some of that money, the family said they planned to try to get that money back. "We were convicted by a jury of our peers — were we?" Todd asked in the interview. "I didn't see multi-millionaires in that jury box. I didn't see people that were in the film industry in that jury box." He continued, "I saw people in a heavily Democratic county and a judge allowed them to paint us as these white family who has white entitlement and who has money to burn." DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty When Chang asked the family whether Savannah might havea future in politics— given her speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention and two years spent campaigning for her parents' release — Todd said they were "kind of thinking yes." "There's been some talk of a congressional run," Savannah said. "I don't know if that will or will not be the thing that I do or if it's what I'm called to do. But also, I believe right now my goal is to speak to younger voters." David Livingston/Getty When speaking withLara Trump, Todd opened up about his mission to help the men he met while incarcerated. "They have no support," he said. "And we incarcerate more individuals in our country than anywhere else in the world, yet we have the highest recidivism rate. That should tell you that what we're doing is not working." He added that there is currently "no accountability for the $8.2 billion that's dumped into the Bureau of Prisons" annually. "Accountability is coming," Todd said. "So for all of my brothers that I left behind, I didn't leave you behind. I'm coming for you." Santiago Felipe/Getty The Chrisley family still maintains their innocence, and Todd even went as far to say that hedoesn't owe anyonean apology. "Why am I not allowed to have the benefit of the fruits of our labor?" he asked Chang. "I don't have an apology to give you or anyone else over the money that I've made." Read the original article onPeople
