- Julie and Todd Chrisley received a combined 19-year sentence for fraud convictions last week.
- Julie recorded an episode of "Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley" before her sentencing.
Todd and Julie Chrisley's adopted daughter Chloe, 10, is dealing with her parents' sentencing "in her own way," according to her older sister, and now legal guardian, Savannah Chrisley.
The married couple, who are known to television audiences for their USA Network reality show "Chrisley Knows Best," were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion on November 21, 2022.
In an episode of the podcast "Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley," released on Tuesday but recorded before the husband and wife were sentenced, Julie joined her eldest daughter to discuss how the family was coping with all the changes brought on by the convictions.
Savannah said that Chloe, who Julie, 49, and her 53-year-old husband obtained custody of in 2016, has been well aware of the family's legal woes because "she listens more than you think."
"Chloe is really nosy. She'll put on her headphones and act like she's listening to something when in reality nothing's on," she said. "So all of the legal issues we've had going on, she's heard about and she's dealing with it in her own way."
"And with the help of therapists," Julie interjected.
They then explained that Chloe has "had a psychologist since she was a toddler" since Julie and Todd "wanted to stay on top of her mental health and what's in her best interest."
Elsewhere in the episode, they also expressed their frustration and disappointment with fans who have taken issue with Savannah referring to Chloe as her younger sister.
Chloe's biological parents are Kyle Chrisley, Savannah's older half-brother, and his ex Angela Johnson. As a result, Savannah is Chloe's aunt as well as her sister because her parents adopted her.
"Yes, she has biological parents, but every child that has been adopted has biological parents," Julie said. "That doesn't mean that we aren't her parents. She has been adopted, she is ours. She is our daughter, not our granddaughter."
"Chloe sees you as her big sister," she told Savannah. "It just kills me that people have to put a label on everything."
"Family isn't who you're tied to biologically in your DNA," Savannah said. "It's who you chose it to be, it's who loves you like a family should love you."
Julie agreed, adding: "Families can look so many different ways and to diminish the way a family looks because it looks different than what you think it should is wrong."
After he was sentenced, Todd choked up over what he described as an "enormously sad day" for his family and asked the court that they give his wife less prison time, as Insider's Azmi Haroun and Haven Orecchio-Egresitz reported.
"I'm most concerned for Chloe and Grayson," Julie said through sobs at the sentencing. "To hear your 10-year-old say she doesn't want to live if their mom goes away, no child should feel that way."
Julie's request to stay in home confinement until Chloe is an adult was ultimately denied by the court.
The Chrisleys were found guilty of defrauding banks out of more than $30 million by providing fake financial statements, which made it look like they were wealthier than they were.
Todd was given 12 years in prison and 16 months probation, while Julie received seven years in prison and 16 months probation. Peter Tarantino, their accountant, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for his role in the scheme.