A family divided. In 2014, Chrisley Knows Best gave fans a glimpse of Todd Chrisley’s one-of-a-kind family. Viewers saw Todd’s close bond with all of his children, including his eldest daughter, Lindsie Chrisley, before things took a rocky turn.
Five years after the show debuted on USA, Todd and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were indicted on tax evasion charges, to which they pleaded not guilty. Days later, Todd issued a statement alleging that Lindsie, who married Will Campbell in 2012, was having extramarital affairs with The Bachelorette’s Robby Hayes and Josh Murray.
“It’s heartbreaking and shameful that these kinds of accusations have to be aired in public. We have tried to keep Lindsie’s extramarital relationships with Robby Hayes and Josh Murray private for her sake since August of 2016,” Todd said in a statement to E! News in August 2019. “Sadly, for reasons we can only guess at, she ran to the sheriff’s office to accuse her brother [Chase Chrisley] of buying a sex tape of her and Robby, which was a complete lie, and now she’s telling more lies about me.”
After the news made headlines, Lindsie claimed that the reality star’s allegations were a result of her filing a police report one month prior, in which she accused her father and stepbrother of threatening to extort her with an alleged sex tape because they “wanted her to lie about an incident.”
Although the podcast host didn’t reference the affair rumors, her lawyer said in a statement at the time that she “has been a constant target of lies, harassment and threats from her family.”
Hayes, for his part, clarified that that he “did not make a sex tape” with Lindsie.
“I’m not sitting there with a camera aimed down and trying to get the angles. We got caught on the security camera, basically. It was a puppy camera in her friend’s living room, the couch we crashed on,” the Bachelor in Paradise alum detailed during an episode of the “Housewives and Vanderpump” podcast in August 2019.
The estranged father-daughter duo continued to keep their distance from one another until Lindsie announced that she and Campbell had called it quits.
“While one door closes, another opens,” the former reality star wrote via Instagram in July 2021. “It’s with the deepest sadness that, after nine years of marriage, Will and I have mutually decided to end our marriage. We maintain the greatest respect and love for one another, and we’re so grateful for our time together. We will continue to remain friends and be devoted parents to our son whom we both love very much.”
That same week, Todd and his son Chase addressed the situation on their podcast, “Chrisley Confessions.”
“I’m going to put it in my own words so therefore it cannot be twisted or contorted,” the businessman said at the time. “I want to be very clear that it is a very sad day, that this is the news that I went to bed with last night and that I prayed about and that I woke up again with this morning with these press requests.”
Chase added during the episode that he wanted to be in his stepsister’s life following their public feud.
“At the end of the day, no matter what happens … Lindsie’s still my sister and I love her, and if she ever needed me, I’m a phone call away,” he noted.
Lindsie, for her part, acknowledged that she had “reached out privately” to her family members after hearing about her father’s comments.
“I feel certain that our legal teams will be in communication with each other over the coming weeks,” she explained on her podcast “Coffee Convos With Kail Lowry & Lindsie Chrisley” in August 2021. She clarified that although she appreciated “the extended olive branch,” it felt like “a pattern of repeated behavior from 2019.”
Scroll through for a full timeline of Todd and Lindsie’s ups and downs:
Amid rumors of a possible indictment, Todd took to social media to deny the allegations against him and his wife, going on to explain the reason for the potential legal trouble. “It all started back in 2012, when we discovered that a trusted employee of ours had been stealing from us big time. I won’t go into details, but it involved all kinds of really bad stuff like creating phony documents forging our signatures, and threatening other employees with violence if they said anything. We even discovered that he illegally bugged our home,” the Chrisley Knows Best star wrote via Instagram in August 2019. Todd alleged that after the family fired the main he took "phony documents to the U.S. Attorney’s office" and as a result he and wife Julie would be "named in a federal indictment." He concluded the post: “I’m telling you all this now because we have nothing to hide and have done nothing to be ashamed of. Not only do we know we’ve done nothing wrong, but we’ve got a ton of hard evidence and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it.” One day after posting his side of the story, Todd and Julie were charged and they surrendered to authorities the next day and posted bond. Several months later, the pair settled the charges in October 2019. After her dad's initial statement on the matter, Lindsie spoke out about the situation via her lawyer. “Lindsie would like to thank all of her fans and supporters. The circumstances Todd and Julie find themselves in, is quite unfortunate," her attorney said at the time. "It was reported that Lindsie was the source of the information that led to her father's arrest. That is untrue, she was not the source of this information. Lindsie has been a constant target of lies, harassment and threats from her family and as a result, has been distancing herself from the Chrisley family since 2017. Lindsie is currently processing the events that have unfolded. We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and pray for a just resolution." Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock
Several days after being charged with fraud, Todd issued a statement accusing his oldest daughter of having affairs with Hayes and Murray. The allegations surfaced after Lindsie's police report from one month prior was made public. In the report, she claimed that her father and stepbrother threatened to extort her because they “wanted her to lie about an incident.” Murray, for his part, explained that he and Lindsie “have been friends for years.” In an interview with E! News in August 2019, he responded to the accusations that he had an affair with Lindsie by suggesting that Todd and Julie “focus on how not to be imprisoned for 30 years rather than spreading gossip to try and hurt their daughter.” Hayes also denied the accusations at the time. Broadimage/Shutterstock; Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Savannah Chrisley fired back against Lindsie's allegations against Todd and Chase by insisting that their father “would try to help” instead of attempting to blackmail anyone. “It’s extremely sad that my dad has a child of his that’s trying to make his life so miserable because she wasn’t on the show and didn’t get the attention that she wanted,” Savannah said according to Entertainment Tonight. (Lindsie had previously appeared on the reality series from 2014 until 2017 with her son, Jackson.) Jim Smeal/Shutterstock; Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
During an episode of “Coffee Convos With Kail Lowry & Lindsie Chrisley," Lindsie hinted that she was looking to move on when she discussed using crystals “for basically, like, healing wounds from your past and to be able to move forward.” Lindsie mentioned her father later on in the episode while discussing her upcoming 30th birthday. “I feel like my dad might have gone through, like, a crisis when he turned 30. … I feel like he was sad when he was turning 30,” she said in September 2019. “I definitely remember that.” Dana Mixer/MEGA
Following news that her father was hospitalized with COVID-19, Lindsie took to social media to call out the trolls mocking his condition. “The audacity of some people blows my mind,” she wrote in her Instagram Stories in April 2020. “This is disgusting. My inbox is flooding with similar messages & I'm not here for it. Get right or get off my page.” KAT/MEGA
Todd shared a post that was seemingly intended for Lindsie after she announced her split from her husband of nearly 10 years. "I’m here. I love you. Whatever is going on in your life right now, I see it, and I’m working all things out for good, for you, my child. There is nothing you can do or have done that will make me ever love you less. I will protect you from anything, and anyone who tries’s [SIC] to harm you or your reputation," he wrote via Instagram in July 2021. The message concluded: "I promise you I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am breathing a new wind into and over your life right now. Look for the favor and blessings I’m sending in this season your way because they are from me. I love you so much!" Rob Latour/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Lindsie admitted that she was dealing with "so many feelings" after finding out that her dad commented on her breakup. "As you all know, I shared that I was going through a divorce and this has been something that has weighed heavily on me and my emotional state for some time now and it has been very, very freeing to be able to share that," she read from a prepared statement on "Coffee Convos" in August 2021. "We all know that social media is so scary and it can make hard situations in life so much harder." Although Todd has her blocked on social media, she saw the message and questioned why it couldn't have been sent privately. "Part of my homework in therapy for some time now has been disengagement," she mentioned during the episode. "I truly was shocked when I saw something so personal shared as we do have each other's numbers." Dana Mixer/MEGA
Todd shared that he did not have plans to discuss his daughter or her divorce again because it was not his "business" and he had no knowledge of "what happened." "I'm not reaching out and I'm not commenting on the divorce," he told E! News in August 2021. "I spoke about what I woke up to one morning. I talked about it on [my podcast] 'Chrisley Confessions,' and I made a commitment that I was not going to talk about that anymore." Amy Harris/Shutterstock
"There will never be a reconciliation,” Lindsie told Entertainment Tonight on September 2. “I think that the most that anyone could ask for at this point is for everyone to go on with their lives as they see fit and to just leave the other side alone. But at this point, there will be no chance for reconciliation. And unfortunately, I’m going to continue to respond to whatever allegations are put out.” She added, “Through therapy over the last year, I had just been advised by my therapist to not tune in, to not follow along on social media, things that were being posted because it’s triggering to me. So, I try to distance myself from that as much as possible.” YouTube
“Lindsie is our daughter and we love her, and we wish her nothing but the best,” Todd exclusively told Us. “It’s no secret that there has been a lot of uneasiness that has gone on and transpired — but we choose to keep that private.” Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Lindsie surprised fans went she took the stand amid Todd and Julie’s bank and wire fraud trial and spoke in support of her father. During her testimony, Lindsie walked back her previous claims that her father allegedly tried to blackmail her with a sex tape. She told the jury that she no longer believed that Todd was involved in exploiting her and confirmed that there was no sex tape with Hayes. Lindsie insisted that Todd's priorities are “his children and his wife, in that order,” while defending her estranged parent. Despite Lindsie’s comments, Todd and Julie were found guilty on all counts of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in June 2022. The couple, who plan to appeal the decision, will be sentenced at a later date. KAT/MEGA
After Todd and Julie were found guilty in their highly publicized fraud trial, Lindsie addressed the verdict. "I know most of you are expecting to hear from me on my podcasts this week as I took time to be with my family last week," she wrote via her Instagram Story. "The verdict is not what I had hoped or prayed for, and I am deeply saddened for myself, my son and my family as a whole." Lindsie continued, "Please pray for us during this difficult time and know that I will be back when the time is right. Thank you for your continued love and support." Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock; Jimmy Morrison/EPA/Shutterstock
Lindsie confessed during an episode of her “Coffee Convos” podcast that she previously "put my foot in my mouth by going on record and saying there's never a possibility for any type of reconciliation" with her loved ones. She didn’t confirm whether she had since reconciled wither her parents and siblings but vowed to support them during the family’s legal woes."I will go on record today and say I should never say never in any situation because you don't know what's going to happen in the future to be making statements like that," Lindsie told her listeners. "So, that was reckless for me to say."She added: "I will also go on record today and say that I love my parents, I love my siblings, I love my grandmother. And what is the future of our relationships at this point, I'm currently not going to discuss any more than that, other than the fact that I love them and I stand with them. And I will continue to stand with them through the good, the bad and the ugly." Broadimage/Shutterstock
During an episode of his "Chrisley Confessions" podcast, Todd gave listeners an update on where he and Lindsie stand following their reconciliation. “At the end of the day she is our child and I love her, and it’s something we still have to work through," he explained. "Because I am sitting in my feelings like she is sitting in hers. But she put her pride to the side and went on the stand and said, ‘I was wrong by listening to the information I listened to, I now know who the individual was that was responsible for this, and she lied. And because she was my friend at the time I believed her. And then when I realized what she was doing I filed a police report against her.'” Broadimage/Shutterstock; KAT / MEGA
During an episode of his "Christly Confessions" podcast, the patriarch sat down with Lindsie to discuss their ups and downs. "God knows I wasn't prepared for this estrangement. But I will tell you now looking back we needed this estrangement," he admitted. "There's no way that I would be where I am today if you had not forced the estrangement by leaving Chrisley Knows Best and cutting off communication." Todd recalled not knowing "how to function" without being able to contact his eldest daughter, adding, "It was cold turkey. But I'm grateful and thankful for the estrangement." Lindsie, for her part, noted that she also struggled with their distance but that time away was necessary. "I think there are certain lessons you have to learn on your own that other people can't teach you from their failures," she said, referring to the major changes in her personal life. Shutterstock (2)
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