Why Todd & Julie Chrisley Say Prison Was ‘Necessary’ & Made Family Stronger (Exclusive)

Todd, Julie and Savannah Chrisley sat down with “Extra’s” Alecia Davis to talk about their new docuseries “The Chrisleys: Back to Reality,” which offers a raw and unfiltered look at Todd and Julie's legal battles, their road to pardon, thei release from prison, and the next chapter in their lives.

Todd shared, “We have been through it, but we're still standing.” 

Alecia asked, “How does it feel to be back home, reunited with the family?”

He explained, “It's great to be home and be with your family, because family is what matters most in life. So, to be able to come home to my wife again, to my children, regardless of what chaos is circulating, it's still better than the alternative.”

Alecia asked what was the most challenging part for the couple.

Julie said, “For me, it was being away from my children, from my husband, from my family, missing those milestones… I was that mom that was at every school drop-off, every school pickup, every school function. So, just to miss those times that you can't get back, that was probably the toughest for me.”  

Todd added, “I think Julie and I talk every day of our life all day long. If we're not with each other, we're texting each other, and then not being able to talk to my kids all day long and sitting down at the table every night for dinner and, you know, just the closeness and to be able to reach out and touch each other, that was the thing that I missed the most.”

Alecia asked, “Was there anything positive that came from that experience?”  

Todd said, “Yes, I think that for me… there's been so much positive. I have a clearer focus now of what my mission in life is. I have a better understanding of who I am as a man. I have a greater level of understanding of my lack of understanding for other people's situations… But I think that, you know, God says that he will humble you, and so it is a humbling experience.”

Julie reflected, “And I met some amazing women, some women that I will be friends with till I die… Those are just special friendships that you're bonded for life.”

Todd agreed, “You really are. And I think that when you're thrown in, you know, pain is pain. Your pain is never going to be as bad to me as my pain is to me. And so, I think that through this whole process, I learned to process other people's pain with them and to hear the stories that they felt comfortable enough to share with me and to come to me and say, ‘Would you pray with me?’ Or, you know, ‘Todd, I'm having a problem with my son that's doing this. What would you say to do?’ And I'm like, ‘Buddy, I'm in here in prison with you. Do you really want my advice?,’ and he's like, ‘Yes, I do.’”

The reality star added, “This was necessary for our family to go through in order for us to go to the next level. So, I believe that God gives us what he knows that we can handle, and that this was our season of being in the fire and that through that season we've become stronger.”

It also changed how he looks at people. He said, “I would tell Savannah when she had dates with somebody with tattoos, ‘What the hell is wrong with you? The kid's got a problem. He's using his body as a cheat sheet.’ So now, some of the kids that I have mentored and that I'm still in their lives every day are covered [in tattoos]… but I love them with all of my heart because I was able to see past what they put on their bodies. I was able to see the heart behind the canvas.”

Savannah spoke about becoming the caretaker for her two siblings and struggling to free her parents.

She recalled, “Getting Chloe and Grayson. Chloe was a pre-teen girl, that was very challenging, but… in the grand scheme of things, we got in our little routine and we did really good together. Like, the three of us… it became pretty seamless. But also fighting the federal government. That was my everyday life. From the day they left till the day they came home. S,o there were challenges at every single twist and turn, but I was able to get it done.”

Todd put it this way: “She fought the federal government like an ex-spouse. So, she did not give up. She went to bed at night thinking, ‘I'm waking up tomorrow morning, and I'm going to screw you.’ The next night, then all through the day, ‘I'm going to catch you in a lie over here. I'm going to catch you in a lie over here.’ So, she was lit like a scorned woman whose husband had cheated.”

Savannah spoke about how she got her parents pardoned, saying, “You know, once they went away, I started speaking publicly about the conditions of the prison as well as the corruption that went on in our case, and that garnered a lot of attention… I was asked to speak at some political conferences and then the President's team reached out, asked me to speak at the [Republican National Convention], so I spoke there, and I then started going to D.C. trying to get meetings with people showing up at the right place and the right time, meeting the right people.”

So, does she want to go into politics now? Savannah said, “I love going to D,C. I love the world of politics. I love the challenges that arise from it. I also love knowing that it takes one person to implement change. If you fight hard enough and you're loud enough, you can implement lifelong change. So, I do love that aspect of it. But for now, I'm going to try to get my life back in order and then see what happens. But you can make just as much change on the outside as you can on the inside.”

So, what is the truth? Todd said, “The truth is that Julie and I never did what we were convicted of. You're going to see a lot of documents. There's a website that's being set up to where you, the individual, can go after watching the episode. Log in, find that document that's referenced or the statement that we're making. You're going to find out more about the corruption within the Department of Justice at that time with the prosecutors.”

Alecia wondered if Todd has spoken with President Trump following his pardon. Todd said, “I have. The first on my way out the gate. We were still on the prison grounds when I FaceTimed his right-hand girl and she was in the President's office and said, ‘Look who I have here.’ And we got about a two minutes of his time… He was very humble and very kind, very respectful and congratulating… And also apologetic.”

Touching on the rivalry between their son Chase and daughter Savannah, he said, “I don't know that it's mine and Julie's job to heal what's between Chase and Savannah. That is a sibling rivalry that has blown up.”

Savannah said “There's no rivalry at the end of the day over the past two and a half years. You see it on the show. You see what has happened, what hasn't happened, who's stepped in, who's helped. And my mom said it in the past interview, like, when they're gone, we're all that we have left. I got a front-row seat to what happens when they're gone. And that's where I stand with it. And so, with Chase, if I'm right now going to work on me, I'm going to work on me and take time to better myself and have boundaries with people. And if Chase and I can get in a great place, great. I would love nothing more, but there's got to be tough conversations to be had.”