Todd Chrisley Cried in Video for Savannah Hours Before Reporting to Prison

Todd Chrisley recorded an emotional video for daughter Savannah Chrisley before reporting to prison in January 2023.

“Savannah, I don’t even know where to start this video because I feel like there’s really nothing that’s ever unsaid between us,” Todd, 56, said while holding back tears. “But I did want to leave you a video.”

The clip — which was recorded 14 hours before Todd reported to the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida — was shown during the premiere episode of Lifetime’s new docuseries The Chrisleys: Back to Reality, which premiered on Monday, September 1.

“No dad could ever be more proud of their daughter than I am of you and I’m sorry,” he concluded. “I truly am.”

Lifetime’s docuseries premiered nearly four months after Todd and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were released from prison after being pardoned by President Donald Trump. The couple spent 28 months in prison after being convicted on tax evasion and bank and wire fraud charges in 2022. (They have continued to maintain their innocence.)

The premiere episode featured interviews with Savannah, 28, along with her brothers Chase Chrisley and Grayson Chrisley. Todd’s mom, Faye Chrisley, and Julie’s parents, Harvey and Pam Hughes, also appeared. (Todd and Julie are featured through phone calls from prison.)

“Just seeing them say goodbye was really hard,” Savannah recalled, getting emotional. “I’ll never forget him opening the door and just watching him walk away.”

Chase, 29, compared his parents’ prison stay to “a death” in their family. “Not having my parents around has just been so devastating,” he added.

“If both of your parents going to prison doesn’t make you grow up, then nothing will,” Grayson, 19, added.

Todd and Julie were still incarcerated in the premiere episode, with Savannah telling the camera that working to get them out of prison was her “No. 1 thought,” explaining that “the waiting” is the hardest part.

Elsewhere in the episode, viewers got to see Grayson returning home from the University of Alabama following his freshman year. He revealed to the cameras that Julie was “down” about her prison stay because of “all the stuff she’s missing” in his life.

Grayson revealed that he made the decision to quit playing baseball because Julie went to prison.

“Baseball was my entire life. That’s what I’ve done every weekend year-round since I was 5 years old. I’ve never played a game that my mom wasn’t at,” he said. “When they were on trial in Atlanta, I was playing a tournament in Atlanta. My mom got out of court and came to my tournament in Atlanta. When I couldn’t do that anymore, I was like, ‘I don’t really want to play anymore.’”

Grayson also shared that Julie left him a stuffed bear with a “voice recording” of her in it. However, he did not play it on camera.

“I don’t want to listen to it, I feel like that’s the last private thing I have,” he said. “We give the cameras everything, that’s one thing I want. That’s one thing the cameras don’t get.”

The Chrisleys: Back to Reality two-night premiere continues on Monday, September 1, and Tuesday, September 2, with two-hour episodes airing on Lifetime at 8 p.m. ET. The following week, two episodes will air back-to-back on September 9. The show’s finale is set to premiere on September 16.