Todd Chrisley and Savannah Chrisley Detail “Big Adjustment Period” After His Prison Release

Chrisley Knows Best alums Todd Chrisley and Savannah Chrisley exclusively told E! News about what life has been like since he and his wife Julie Chrisley were released from prison.

Todd Chrisley knows the best part of life after lock up.

Three months after the Chrisley patriarch and his wife Julie Chrisley were pardoned by President Donald Trump and relieved of their sentences for fraud convictions, the reality TV star reflected on the changes he experienced upon returning home.

“Coming home to your people, to your surroundings, is always a comforting thing,” Todd told E! News correspondent Will Marfuggi in an exclusive interview, “but there is that adjustment period because you went from your whole life doing things one way to the last 28 months having to do someone else’s way.”

The 56-year-old’s daughter Savannah Chrisley—who was a staunch advocate for her parents’ release—agreed with her dad that, while it was great to have her family be whole again, it was definitely a change.

“You’re stepping back into a world where everyone else has been living life in a different way,” she added in the joint interview, airing on E! News tonight, Aug. 28, at 11 p.m. “As grateful as we are—clearly, I stopped at nothing to have them home—it’s a big adjustment period to have everyone thrown back in it.”

Savannah added, “Everyone’s just in shock.”

Despite having to relearn his life at home, Todd—who is also dad to Lindsie, 35, and Kyle, 32, with ex Theresa Terry, as well as Chase, 29, Grayson, 19, and Chloe, 12, with Julie—is simply “glad to be home.”

“I was glad to be in my bed. I was glad to be with my wife beside me,” he continued. “Knowing that Chloe is in the room next door and that I got to go in and give her a kiss good night. Knowing that Grayson was in his bedroom. Knowing that Savannah was in her bedroom. Knowing that Chase was coming in and out, that my mother was coming in and out, I had longed for that. So, that was a blessing.”

Plus, Todd is eager for this new phase of life, which is being documented in the family’s new Lifetime reality series The Chrisleys: Back to Reality debuting Sept. 1. Indeed, he feels as though he has more clarity in life.

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“I have a much clearer perception of where I want my life to go, the direction I want it to go in,” he shared before detailing how he has changed since entering prison. “I’m not as easily agitated over things that I was before. I don’t really care about certain things that shouldn’t have mattered to me then [and] they matter less now.”

Todd added, “I’m not as I’m not as focused on everything being perfect. I’m not as focused on you thinking that we’re perfect. I have a greater peace within myself.”

The Chrisleys: Back to Reality debuts Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. Before then, read on to learn everything about the Chrisleys’ case and pardon.

(Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

Indicted on Tax Evasion and Other Charges

Todd and Julie Chrisley were indicted on 12 counts by a federal grand jury in Atlanta in August 2019 on charges included wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to a document obtained by NBC News. Prosecutors claimed fraud began in the mid-aughts—inclusive of evading nearly $2 million in state taxes between 2008 and 2016 and hiding over $1 million dollars from the IRS.

The day before the indictment was issued, Todd maintained he and his wife were innocent, and instead said a trusted employee had been stealing from and blackmailing the couple.

“We have nothing to hide and have done nothing to be ashamed of,” he wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “Not only do we know we’ve done nothing wrong, but we’ve got a ton of hard evidence and bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it.”

(Photo by Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for E3 Chophouse Nashville)

Todd and Julie Found Guilty

It wasn’t until three years later that the Chrisley Knows Best stars went to trial. Following three weeks of testimonies, the pair, who had pleaded not guilty, were convicted on all counts of tax evasion and bank fraud on June 7, 2022.

The U.S. attorney’s office had alleged the duo and their accountant Peter Tarantino—who stood trial with them—conspired to defraud banks out of more than $30 million over the course of a decade.

“As today’s outcome shows, when you lie, cheat and steal, justice is blind as to your fame, your fortune, and your position,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a June 2022 statement. “In the end, when driven by greed, the verdict of guilty on all counts for these three defendants proves once again that financial crimes do not pay.”

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Sentenced to Multiple Years in Prison

Five months later, the Northern District of Georgia sentenced Todd to 12 years behind bars and Julie to seven years. (Peter was sentenced to three years in prison.)

“Over the course of a decade, the defendants defrauded banks out of tens of millions of dollars while evading payment of their federal income taxes,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a November 2022 statement. “Their lengthy sentences reflect the magnitude of their criminal scheme and should serve as a warning to others tempted to exploit our nation’s community banking system for unlawful personal gain.”

However, Julie and Todd’s respective sentences were shortened in September 2023—with Julie scheduled to be released a year and three months earlier, and Todd two years earlier than his originally scheduled 2035 release.

“Without a doubt, Todd and Julie are model incarcerated individuals who received exorbitant sentences,” Jay Surgent, the pair’s attorney, told Insider in September 2023. “I believe Todd is down to 10 years and Julie is now at five years.”

(Photo by: Andrew Eccles/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Starting Their Sentences

The couple started their respective prison sentences in January 2023, with Todd serving his time at Federal Correctional Institution (FPI) Pensacola in Florida and Julie at a different federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky.

(Photo by: Julie Holder/NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

No Contact

Six months after Julie and Todd reported to their respective prisons, their daughter Savannah Chrisley shared insight into how the duo were doing, revealing that her parents did not have contact during their time behind bars.

“195 days without a word to each other…” she wrote in an August 2023 Instagram story. “My heart is breaking…Please help to bring justice!”

She also pushed back at rumors about their time in prison.

“It’s hilarious because one of them was like, ‘Oh, he’s let himself go,'” she said on her Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley podcast. “First off, news flash, they don’t sell hair color in commissary. So of course his hair is gray! But, you know what, I would tell him today, if he was out, keep it that way. Like, it looks good! He’s got a great prison barber.”

(Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

Todd Details Filthy Prison Conditions

However, Todd spoke out from behind bars about the mistreatment he faced at the federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla.

“The food is dated,” he said in a phone interview on a December 2023 episode of Cuomo. “It’s a year past expiration.”

“You’ve got rats, you’ve got squirrels in the storage facility where the food is,” he continued. “They just covered it up with plastic and then tore the ceiling out because of all the black mold and found a dead cat in the ceiling, and it dropped down on the top of the food.”

Beyond the horrors in the cafeteria, he alleged that someone also attempted to extort his family members.

“There was a photograph taken of me while I was sleeping and sent to my daughter,” he noted, “asking for $2,600 dollars a month for my protection.”