Julie and Savannah examined their relationship with Chloe and how she's fully aware of her parents' legal fight.
On the latest episode of her Unlocked podcast, Savannah Chrisley and mom Julie Chrisley examined their relationship with 10-year-old Chloe and how she is dealing with the family's legal woes.
During a raw and emotional conversation recorded before Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to a combined 19 years in federal prison following their conviction in their tax fraud case, Julie and Savannah discussed some of the comments appearing on social media ahead of said sentencing.
One particular comment that stirred up a range of emotions touched on how the stars of Chrisley Knows Best should stop referring to Chloe as their daughter and sister, considering Chloe is, biologically speaking, Julie's granddaughter and Savannah's niece. Chloe is the daughter of Todd's eldest son, Kyle, whom he shares with ex-wife Teresa Terry. Todd and Julie adopted Chloe at a very young age and have raised her as their own in their household.
Savannah read out loud the comment that triggered the topic at the beginning of the podcast, which read, "Honestly, I realize that you all love this precious angel but you're not her sister. You're her aunt. Your mother is not her mother. She's her grandmother. She has a mother, although not fit, and a father, apparently. Whatever. They made her. They're her biological parents."
Julie conceded to the very obvious fact that, yes, Chloe does have biological parents.
"Every child that has been adopted has biological parents," Julie said. "That doesn’t mean that we aren’t her parents. She is ours. She is our daughter. She is not our granddaughter. She is our daughter, which makes her your sister."
Savannah noted how Chloe has been a part of the family since she was "a little less than a year old" and how Chloe's prior living situation was abhorrent.
"This child came to us from her biological mother," Savannah explained. "She had been starved half the time. She wasn’t clean. She came to us one time with a burn on her chest. ... So, yes, her biological mother may have had her but that doesn’t make you a mother."
Julie chimed in saying Chloe sees Savannah "as her big sister" and that "if you ask her, she will tell you, 'Savannah is my sister. Grayson is my brother. Chase is my brother.' That’s the house she is growing up in. So for people to say that, it just kills [me.]"
Savannah, who recently revealed she's taking care of 16-year-old brother, Grayson, and Chloe, then went on to explain that her parents were caught between a rock and hard place when it came to Chloe.
"You and Dad, you were kind of dammed if you did, dammed if you didn’t from the very beginning with Chloe because that is Kyle’s biological daughter, and dad had a lot of guilt surrounding it," Savannah explained. "He didn’t know how to handle it. And y’all spoke to child psychologists, therapists and Dad would correct [Chloe] when she would call Todd, my dad, when she would call him, 'Dad.'"
Savannah continued, "Dad would always correct her and say, ‘No, Papa,’ because he felt a level of guilt. But y’all spoke to child psychologists and therapists who said, ‘Do not correct her. Whatever she identifies with is what you are.' Because in her mind, by correcting her, it makes her feel less than, like she’s not a part of it. So, she calls you 'Mom,' Dad ‘Dad,’ and she has been legally adopted. There was an adoption ceremony that we went to."
As for how Chloe's handling the family's legal challenges, she's not immune to all the talk surrounding the family. In fact, she's intently listening.
"She listens. She listens more than you think," Savannah said.
Added Julie, "And most kids do. Most kids, parents, we think they don’t hear an argument or a concern or whatever, but kids hear everything."
Savannah explained how "Chloe's really nosy."
"She'll put on her headphones and act like she is listening to something when really nothing’s on," Savannah said. "So, you think she’s listening [when really she's just listening to the conversation.] And so, all of the legal issues that we've had going on, she's heard about and she's dealing with it in her own way."
Julie added, "And with the help of therapists."
Ahead of the Nov. 21 sentencing, Julie also opened up about her state of mind amid the turmoil.
"I don’t have hate in my heart for anyone. Like, if I can’t help you then I don’t want to hurt you," she said. "Like, if you do something to me, I want God to bless you and move you on. If you are not supposed to be in my life, bless you and move you on. ... That’s honestly how I feel, and I’m glad I feel that way because I don’t want to hold all this anger and bitterness and resentment. Could I? Absolutely. But it’s not going to get me anywhere."
"Well, no," Savannah interjected, "but there are certain people that I wouldn’t mind if they got hit by a bus, you know?"
Savannah would later say she's trying to turn the other cheek but admits it's a struggle.
"I heard it at church — you dishonor me, I will honor you," she said. "It’s the hardest thing to do, and I slowly try to implement that but normally, you come at me, I’m coming after you, which is how I operate."
Julie, who has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison, assured fans she has "never gone out and intentionally tried to do anything that I wasn’t supposed to do."
The mom-daughter duo also opened up about how friends suddenly disappeared as they were smack in the middle of their legal troubles, friends the family has known for a long time.
"And to not reach out is pretty s**tty," Savannah said.
Julie said it's possibly because people don't know what to say or maybe feel awkward.
"I know what I've done," Julie added. "More importantly, I know what I haven't done."
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