Despite his off-color, southern sense of humor, real estate mogul Todd Chrisley has never shied away from talking about his faith in God. But it was the latest chapter in his life — his more than two years in prison — that put his reliance on the Lord to the test.
Chrisley and his wife, Julie, stars of the popular reality TV series “Chrisley Knows Best,” have maintained their innocence since their 2022 trial in Atlanta, where they were ultimately convicted on charges of bank fraud and tax evasion. Chrisley, for his part, has said they will detail the proof of wrongful conviction in an upcoming show.
The pair was just pardoned this spring by President Donald Trump.
During a lengthy conversation on his daughter Savannah’s podcast, Chrisley opened up about his struggles with doubt and failure to understand how he and his wife ended up in prison cells.
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“It was hard that first night, and I was so angry with God,” Chrisley said of his first night behind bars. “I remember when the lights went out, I laid there and I cried. And I said, ‘God, why have you forsaken me? What did I do in my life that warrants this? You know these things aren’t true yet you allowed it to happen.'”
The 56-year-old said he had a dream when he finally fell asleep. In it, he recalled God telling him, “I have planted you where I need you and when you leave, they will rise.”
At the time, Chrisley said the dream made no sense to him — but his perspective has since changed.
“Now I understand it,” he told his daughter. “Because, ‘When I leave they will rise,’ well, I have left and now the place is closing.”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced in December it would be closing the Federal Correctional Institute in Pensacola due to “significant disrepair” and to “maximize resources and mitigate safety concerns.”
The decision to shutter the facility came last year, though Chrisley has since praised the move. During a press conference at the end of May, he said some of the inmates at FCP were discriminated against.
For its part, the BOP has said it is “aware” of Chrisley’s statements and reviewing his concerns.
When he first went to prison, Chrisley said he had to learn “total surrender” to God, especially when it came to his children, two of whom were minors at the time of his incarceration.
Savannah, at that point, became the legal guardian for the Chrisleys’ son Grayson and their granddaughter Chloe, whom the reality TV stars legally adopted.
“I knew in my heart that you would take care of Grayson, that you would take care of Chloe,” he said. “And I prayed for your strength every day. I asked God to renew you every day. I said the same prayer every night, for God to place a protective hedge around my family, for Him to keep a healing hand on you at all times.”
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