Savannah Chrisley Says She Feels ‘Guilty’ Over Only Visiting Parents Todd and Julie Twice a Month in Prison
The ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ alum says “there’s definitely some guilt associated with it because you’re like, ‘Nah, I shouldn’t be moving on with my life. I need to be there.'”
Savannah Chrisley is dealing with some personal turmoil when it comes to her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley.
On the latest episode of her Unlocked podcast, the Chrisley Knows Best star said she feels “guilty” for only visiting her parents twice a month.
Todd and Julie are serving a combined 15-year prison sentence for tax and bank fraud, and are behind bars at two different facilities — Todd in Florida and Julie in Kentucky.
“It’s so hard because the first year mom and dad were gone, literally every weekend, I was gone. Every weekend I went and visited one of them,” the 26-year-old reality TV personality explained.
She continued, “We go twice a month now, and there’s definitely some guilt associated with it because you’re like, ‘Nah, I shouldn’t be moving on with my life. I need to be there. I need to be seeing them.'”
While Savannah feels bad for not being able to visit her parents more, she’s had to play parent herself, as she’s stepped in to raise her 11-year-old niece Chloe, and younger brother, Grayson, 17.
“It’s so tough because I’ve said it before — it’s mom and dad not being here,” Savannah said of how Todd and Julie’s absence impacts the family. “It’s like learning to grieve the loss of people who are still alive, and grief is real. It is. Sometimes I like to turn a blind eye to it. I like to not feel it.”
Savannah said she tries to “pack” all her feelings away and “not feel guilty about moving on with my life,” amid the ongoing family drama.
It has spilled into her personal life, however, with Savannah often questioning how she starts a family of her own without worrying that she’s leaving her parents behind.
“I’m trying to figure out, like, okay, how do I move on without making my parents feel like I’m moving on without them? How do I, you know, please everyone, which I think is kind of hard to do,” she shared.
Savannah added, “It’s probably impossible. I don’t know. It’s really tough.”
Her comments come after Savannah recently opened up going to therapy to work out some of the trauma she’s experienced, both from her parents’ imprisonment and the codependent male relationships she’s formed over the years, including with her dad, Todd.
“Trauma and codependency, I feel like go hand in hand a lot of times and so that was something for me that I really had to work on. And I still work on it and I’m still very codependent,” Savannah said during a recent episode of Unlocked.
“Codependency really shows up in like the male relationships in my life,” she went on to stay.
After some “inner work,” Savannah explained she’s become aware of how important it is to have an identity that is solely her own, and is hopeful that by working on herself, she can facilitate healthier growth in her relationships — with men and otherwise.
