Savannah Chrisley Is a ‘Wreck’ Sending Brother Grayson Off to College

As if it’s not hard enough having her parents in prison for nearly the next decade, Savannah Chrisley now has to deal with a form of empty nest syndrome as she sends her brother, Grayson, off to college. Savannah has been the primary caretaker for her younger brother amid her parents’ stint in federal prison for financial bank fraud.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, the 27-year-old shared in an Instagram post her feelings as she send the 18-year-old off to the University of Alabama. “My whole heart.. off to College you go!” Savannah captioned the post of the two. “I’m so proud of you @graysonchrisley #universityofalabama.” She further opened up about her brother leaving for college during the Dec. 31 episode of her Unlocked podcast.

“Trust me, it’s gonna be weird for me because I have said I am going I’m already starting to cry. I am going to be an absolute disaster,” she said of Grayson. “It’s gonna be terrible. Like, I will probably just show up and just I’ll come do your laundry. We’ll go get lunch. We’ll do something because I just can’t. … And so any parents that have had kids go off to college, like, please message me. Tell me how you got through it. Give me tips.”

She also updated fans of her emotional state as she prepared for the big day to her Instagram Stories earlier this week. “Why did no one prepare for for how hard this is going to be?😭” she said in a now expired post, per PEOPLE. ”Taking Gray to college on Sunday and I’m a wreck. My best friend … 😭. I’m so excited for him to go and make a life for himself … but boy is my heart breaking…”

Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced 7 and 12 years, respectively. As of October 2024, the Federal Bureau of Prisons website shows Todd will be released June 26, 2032, more than two years earlier than his original 12-year sentence. The couple also has to pay restitution.