Todd & Julie Chrisley Speak Out About Their Prison Sentences

Julie and Todd Chrisley on 'Chrisley Knows Best'
USA Network / courtesy Everett Collection

Disgraced reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley have been opening up for the first time since being sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion.

The couple spoke on their Chrisley Confessions podcast about their impending prison sentence and how they’re living every day like it’s their last. Reading a quote from author Priscilla Shirer, Julie said, “Age is just a number, and since we don’t know our death date,.” (via ETOnline)

Agreeing with his wife’s sentiment, Todd added, “Yesterday doesn’t matter. Today is what we have. Tomorrow belongs to God because we’re not promised tomorrow.”

Julie went on to say that she is handling this stressful time by remembering that her children are watching. “The difficulties I’m going through, how I handle it… they’re watching that as well. If I handle it right, they’re watching; if I screw it up, they’re watching,” she explained.

“And so, for me as a parent, I want to try to make sure that I do it right more than I do it wrong because I know they’re watching,” she continued. “And I know it will prepare them for difficulties, unfortunately, that they will have later in life.”

In November, the Chrisley Knows Best stars were found guilty of tax evasion and bank fraud, including falsifying documents to obtain $30 million in bank loans and concealing millions of dollars from the IRS they had made from their USA Network reality show. Todd was given a 12-year sentence, while Julie was sentenced to seven years.

The pair are trying to keep a brave face as they take on the challenges ahead. “You have to live above your circumstances; you have to know that your circumstances are not forever, that they will eventually change and you’re going to come out the other side, and that you’re going to be given the strength you need to get through it,” Julie shared. “But that’s sometimes hard to accept, I think, when you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“There are dark days; we all have dark days,” Todd added, “and we can choose to sit and wallow in it, or we can get up.”