Todd Chrisley may give wife Julie a lot of grief on their USA Network reality show Chrisley Knows Best, but Julie revealed in a new interview with The Tennessean that his pestering may have saved her life.
In 2012, while two of the Chrisleys’ close friends were being treated for cancer, Julie recalled him pestering her, then 39, to undergo a mammogram, despite no family history of breast cancer.
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“I did it to appease him so he would shut up and leave me alone,” Julie, now 45, told the publication.
After going in to get the test, Julie was told by doctors that additional images of her breast tissue would be needed, and then a biopsy. When the results of the biopsy came back, she was hit with the devastating news that she had breast cancer.
“I’m like, oh, I can do this. We’re gonna get through this,” she said, adding of Todd’s reaction, “My husband didn’t sleep for three weeks.”
When looking at her options for treatment, Julie decided upon undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstructive breast implant surgery.
“From the time I was literally in the sixth grade I had these huge boobs, that everybody was like, oh my gosh, Julie has these great boobs,” she recalled of the decision. “But I had a 6-year-old. I had to do whatever I had to do to be around for my kids.”
Julie got emotional recalling a sweet moment between her and Todd when he helped her shower after undergoing the traumatic procedure.
“I truly believe that that moment took our relationship to a whole other level because he never flinched,” she said, tearing up. “He was in the shower with me, he took all of my bandages off, and he never flinched.”
Following her recovering from the mastectomy, she went back under the knife for breast implants.
“We came in and I came out feeling like a new woman,” she said.
After her full recovery, Julie says she keeps an eye on her health not only by exercising, but also by getting regular check-ups from her doctor.
“When you feel better, when you know you’re healthier because of decisions you’re making,” she said. “It helps you be a better wife, a better mother, a better friend.”
Chrisley Knows Best will return to USA Network in 2018.
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/ACMA2017/Getty
