The 'Chrisley Knows Best' stars were sentenced to federal prison time.
Lindsie Chrisley is speaking out for the first time since her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, were sentenced for their felony tax crimes. In a statement to Hollywood Life, the 33-year-old opens up about the "heartbreaking" news.
"I wanted to take a minute and first of all, say thank you to all of our listeners that have reached out to me the past few weeks regarding my family. I wanted to take a step back and begin to process everything before speaking and making any statements," she says in a statement that will also be shared on an upcoming episode of her podcast, Coffee and Convos With Kail Lowry and Lindsie Chrisley. "The past few months have been extremely hard for me and my family, and I am heartbroken over the updates in my parents’ case that occurred late last month."
She continues, "I know some of the media has tried to twist my response to this and make it something it’s not, but at the end of the day, there is no tea here. I am heartbroken and navigating this process the best way I know how. At the end of the day, this is a real family, and these are real and raw emotions. With that being said, thank you all for your love, support, and prayers. It really means the world to my family and me."
On Nov. 21, Todd was sentenced to 12 years and 16-months probation, while Julie was sentenced to seven years and 16-months probation after they were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud in June.
Prior to the statement, Lindsie also appeared on her solo podcast, The Southern Tea, where she shared a brief update on how she has been coping.
"In general, I think it’s just a day by day thing," she says on Wednesday's episode. "I think that feelings come and go depending on the day. So, if I have a super busy day, and you have things to do that take your mind off of everything, that’s helpful. But when you have a day where you’re just sitting in your thoughts, that’s horrible."
Lindsie, who is the mother of 7-year-old Jackson, shares that she has tried to stay busy with the holiday season and her son’s basketball schedule. However, she has rough moments daily, but gets through them with faith.
"My worse time of day are in the mornings when I first wake up and when I go to bed because those are the two times when I'm alone," she admits. "I’m alone, just there in my thoughts and I just can’t help but to think, it’s almost like a countdown because the time is limited and so that has been really, really hard. Being in my Bible, staying faithful to church, being around people who genuinely make me happy, focusing on the things that I can control and not on the things that I can’t."
During last week’s episode of Southern Tea, Lindsie spoke about how different the holidays will be for her family this year.
"In my family, we’ve always done Christmas, like, very big and it’s always been a very exciting time of year. Our house was always decorated very magical and my parents always were the best at Christmas," she said. "Obviously, with everything going on with my family, things look a lot different this year and I saw this and literally started balling sitting on Instagram."
The holidays are usually embraced by the Chrisleys, but this year, Lindsie's ready to hit the reset button and start anew.
"I think about when you start seeing Christmas stuff in July. I hate a rushed feeling," she said. "But this year I’m kind of OK with it. I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m kind of ready for it to all be over. I’m ready for it to be a new year. There’s been so many things that have gone on that I’m just kind of over it and ready to start fresh and to have a little bit of a break."
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