Savannah Chrisley Says Her Twenties Have Been ‘Rough’ amid Parents’ Imprisonment

As Savannah Chrisley celebrates another trip around the sun, the reality star isn’t exactly where she thought she would be.

The television personality turned 27 on Sunday, Aug. 11, and she reflected on what her twenties have looked like on this week’s episode of her podcast Unlocked. Explaining that it doesn’t feel right to be celebrating amid her parents Julie and Todd‘s imprisonment, Savannah said she spends milestone dates looking forward to when they come home.

“My twenties, they’ve been rough,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of hurt, a lot of trauma, a lot of just downhill, just downhill. So I’m going to save the celebrations for 30 and on. I am going to use my twenties as my building years to hopefully get to where I wanna get to.”

Savannah’s parents Julie and her husband Todd Chrisley were indicted in 2019 along with their accountant for financial crimes. They were accused of lying to secure $30 million in bank loans and then filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying the money back. The couple has maintained their innocence, but in 2022, they were found guilty on all 12 counts. The pair reported to prison in January 2023 to serve a combined 19-year sentence, though their sentences were reduced in September 2023.

Amid the legal drama, it’s been difficult for Savannah — who was awarded custody of her minor siblings, Grayson, now 18, and Chloe, 11 — to remember how young she is. She explained, “I feel like I’m 37 after the past two years.”

“I will say for my birthday, my mom has always been the one to make my birthday so special, to celebrate it, and it’s really hard not having her here,” she continued. “Holidays suck in general when you have a loved one that is not here with you, whether that person has passed away or you just don’t have the ability to be together on a day to day basis or really communicate that well.”

“We were just given a really crappy hand of cards,” she added. “So I am going to continue to see this through. I’m going to continue to see that the people that were involved in our case are held responsible.”

Julie’s seven-year tax evasion sentence was recently vacated after a judge ruled in favor of her appeal stating insufficient evidence in the tax fraud case. She will be given a new sentence on September 25, which Savannah said she hopes will result in her mother returning home.

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“The past few weeks, ever since we got the word on the appeal and mom’s resentencing, I have been having the same dreams over and over again,” she shared. “And that dream is mom at home. Like, mom at home and me just saying, like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna we’re gonna figure this out. I’m here.’”

Although she said “I don’t know if it’s getting easier,” the Chrisley Knows Best alum confessed the legal battle has become the “new norm.” For the past year, she said she was mindful to be “intentional” in all aspects of her life, and this year, she is setting a new goal.

“I look at 27, and there’s so many things I hope to happen,” she said. “I hope and pray that mom and dad come home. I hope and pray that I have the ability to make lasting change. I know that I’m working with my lawyers and another group of people to put some initiatives in place that I have come up with. I’m partnering with pray.com. There are so many things that I hope to see come to fruition.”

She concluded: “I hope 27 is a year full of growth and rebuilding and giving myself also a little grace to not have to be perfect and accomplish all these things within 365 days.”