Savannah Chrisley Reveals Her Family Didn’t See Parents’ Legal Issues Coming

Following their guilty verdict, the reality TV couple, who rose to fame in the USA Network series “Chrisley Knows Best,” reported to prison to begin their combined 19-year sentence.

Since then, Savannah Chrisley has been open about the pressure she’s felt to step up and take care of those around her. However, during a new interview, she admitted that she didn’t see the massive change her family was going to face coming.

Todd and Julie Chrisley fought the charges against them until they couldn’t anymore. Even after their guilty verdicts, the husband-and-wife duo have continued to maintain their innocence—and so has the rest of their family.

While chatting with PEOPLE, Savannah discussed the legal issues they have gone through and admitted it all caught them by surprise.

“My family, in general, we thought it was going to end differently,” she said. “We really thought it would end differently. We had lawyers who had told us it was going to end differently. We stood in the truth, and we stood in what we knew to be the truth.”

After reporting to prison in 2023, Savannah became the legal guardian for her younger brother and sister, Grayson and Chloe Chrisley.

Savannah’s brother, 18, is a student at the University of Alabama and was in high school when his parents were going through their trial. According to Savannah, the young adult has “had to grow up so fast.” However, the situation has taught him valuable life lessons.

“… this whole situation has taught him how cruel the world can be and how you have to protect yourself. And as cruel as it’s been, he also has kept this softness about him, and he’s in therapy every single week. I just love to see the heart that he has, and how he’s shown up.”

Savannah couldn’t be more proud of her younger brother, who has also been outspoken about his parents’ legal woes. The reality star, 27, revealed that during previous conversations, he has even credited her with saving his life.

“He says that. But I look at him, and I’m like, he saved me more times than I can count,” Savannah said.

In 2023, Grayson appeared on his sister’s podcast, “Unlocked,” and shared how traveling back and forth to visit his parents while they’re imprisoned has made him “bitter.”

“I struggle going back-to-back weeks because I’m in that mood… and then I go and start it all over again. You never really get out of it,” he said before revealing that “some days or weeks are harder than others.”

Grayson explained that he finds the situation difficult because he wants to live his life, but he struggles with guilt over not seeing his mom and dad.

“It’s like, you’re d-mned if you do, d-mned if you don’t,” he said.

In addition to her younger brother, Savannah also admitted to feeling sad for her sister, Chloe, whom her parents adopted from their oldest son, Kyle Chrisley.

“My heart, honestly, breaks for Chloe because Chloe has not had an easy upbringing. Her biological parents turned their backs on her from a very young age,” she said. “When my parents got custody of her, her biological father [was] completely out the picture [and] mother [was] out of the picture. That was their choice.”

With the added responsibility of her brother and sister, Savannah has “struggled” to make ends meet. During a previous interview, the television personality explained how getting “two kids” surprised her. However, she pushes forward for their sake.

“So, between that, legal expenses to fight for my parents, I am just like anyone else out here. Sure, I put a smile on my face. I look the part; I play the part. But it doesn’t mean I actually am the part. You fake it till you make it. That’s the world that we live in,” she said.

Consequently, Savannah has taken on more work, including selling real estate and appearing in other shows, like “Special Forces” and “The Masked Singer.”

“I do anything that comes my way,” she added. “I’m no better than anyone else out here to have to struggle.”