Todd and Julie Chrisley’s Prison Sentence Is ‘Worse Than Them Dying’ for Son Grayson

Grayson Chrisley shared his feelings about his parents Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley’s prison sentence in a new episode of his sister Savannah Chrisley’s Unlocked podcast. Grayson, 17, said it was “worse than them dying” because he feels like the time he could be spending with them is wasted.Todd and Julie are spending a combined 19 years in prison after they were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion charges last year.

“To me, it’s worse than them dying,” Grayson told Savannah, 25. “Because they’re here, but they’re not here. So it’s just time that’s being wasted. I’m saying, like, if they died, there’s no possibility of you getting any more time with them. So it’s over.”

“You’re forced to have closure,” Savannah said. Savannah is Grayson’s primary guardian while their parents are serving prison time. She is also the guardian of her niece, Chloe, 10.

“You know that no time is being wasted. But now, they’re here but they’re not here, so all that time is being wasted,” Grayson continued. When Savannah asked her brother if he at least sees that their parents are still here to hug him and tell him they love him. Grayson agreed but pointed out that every meeting has a time limit.

Savannah and Grayson’s parents are serving their sentences in prisons hundreds of miles away. Julie is serving a seven-year sentence at a federal penitentiary in Lexington, Kentucky, notes Entertainment Tonight. Meanwhile, Todd will serve 12 years at a facility in Pensacola, Florida. This makes it “impossible” for them to ensure each parent has at least one visitor every weekend.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but I’m also 17,” Grayson said. His parents told him to “live your life,” but that doesn’t stop him from feeling “bad” when he doesn’t visit.

The siblings also noted that their visits to the prisons do not leave them feeling the same way. Savannah is “renewed” after their visits, but it’s different for Grayson. “I’m good Saturday,” he explained. “Sunday is when it hits me. And then Sunday to Thursday is bad, and then we go on Friday again and it’s just the same thing again. You never really get out of it.”

Elsewhere in the new podcast episode, Grayson praised Savannah’s parenting. “I think one thing that I appreciate from you and love you so much for is you said, ‘Hey, you’re doing a really good job. I know it may feel like you’re not, but you’re doing a good job,’” Savannah told her brother. “Yeah, because you’re a kid raising two kids,” Grayson reminded her.