Keeping her distance. Lindsie Chrisley revealed that she and her parents, Todd and his wife, Julie Chrisley, are spending the holiday season apart following their prison sentencing.
“With my parents’ sentencing just being a couple of days before Thanksgiving and me having Jackson for Thanksgiving, emotions were very high at that point,” Lindsie, 33, said during the Wednesday, December 14, episode of her “The Southern Tea” podcast. “I just didn’t feel it was in the best interest of Jackson for him to go and see my parents in any state that they normally aren’t if that makes sense.”
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. The pair’s former assistant, Peter Tarantino, was also sentenced to 36 months behind bars for his connection to the fraud.
Lindsie, whom Todd shares with ex Teresa Terry, explained during her Wednesday podcast that the couple “needed time to process,” everything that happened. While the reality star said she “struggled with giving up” spending the holidays” with her loved ones, she “wanted to be able to give them that time.” (Todd also shares son Kyle, 31, with his ex, while he and Julie are parents to Chase, 26, Savannah, 25, and Grayson, 16.)
The former USA Network personality’s 10-year-old son, whom she shares with ex William Campbell, also played into her decision.
“Jackson wakes up, it’s like a tornado comes through the house, from the time that he literally wakes up until the time that he goes to bed,” she said. “And so, with that kind of energy going on, and then you know, just not so great news that just wasn’t a good combination in my opinion, so I had to make a hard decision as a mom and absolutely hate it.”
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 “The Southern Tea” podcast. “Nothing like that ever transpired.”
The South Carolina native later noted that she and her dad got back in touch last year after she split from Campbell, 33. “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.”
Following their sentencing last month, Lindsie issued an official statement after taking time to “process everything” in regard to her parent’s trial.
“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,” she told Hollywood Life in a December 6 statement. “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. I am heartbroken and navigating this process the best way I know how. … 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.”
