Chase Chrisley finally has something to say.
One month after his famous parents, Todd and Julie, were sentenced to many years behind federal bars for committing tax evasion and bank fraud (among other crimes), the 26-year old has finally issued a handful of statements.
During an appearance on sister Savannah Chrisley’s Unlocked podcast, Chase responded to chatter over why he had been the only family member to date who hadn’t addressed the topic.
“I don’t owe the public an explanation. I don’t need to explain how I feel to anybody, other than the people that I care about and that I love,” Chase said.
“Obviously, what we have been going through is hell. It is a terrible, terrible situation.
“But I have to try and find the good, even in the darkest time.”
Chase, who got engaged to Emmy Medders in October, went on to say he’s focused on maintaining some peace for himself and his loved ones away from the spotlight.
“I have to make sure that I’m good, so that I can be good for Emmy,” Chase told Savannah.
“I have to make sure my family is good emotionally and that I am in a place emotionally so I can be there for my loved ones.
“That’s why I haven’t really said anything on Instagram.
“I feel like I’ve been doing the work behind the scenes, and that’s gonna pay off and I’ll just let my actions speak for what needs to be said.”
Todd will start serving a 12-year sentence in early 2023, while Julie will serve seven years.
The spouses will need to serve 16 months of probation as well.
The couple, who have been married since 1996, were engulfed in a weeks-long trial that ended in June when they were convicted on tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiring to defraud the IRS.
Prosecutors alleged at the time that the wealthy reality stars used falsified documents to obtain $30 million in bank loans… and then defaulted on more than $20 million in debt when Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy in 2012.
They also concealed millions of dollars from the IRS that they had earned from the aforementioned program.
“I’m not shedding a tear anymore. I cried all I’m crying,” Chase said on the aforementioned podcast of how emotional he’s been of late.
Reflecting on how Savannah coped with the trial this summer, he noted, “throughout this whole situation you’ve gotten angrier and angrier and angrier.”
His sibling then admitted that he’s been a challenge to watch Chase just move on with his life.
“I think part of the rift you and I have is there’s just an unspoken tension there and I think from me, it comes from seeing you move on with your life, because mom and dad have both said, ‘I don’t want you to stop living your life,’” Savannah said.
“And you’re doing that when it comes to you and Emmy, and for me, I think because I don’t have that, and there’s part of me that feels guilt for moving on in any way shape or form.”
The male Chrisley Knows Best star said he’s “not going to worry about what everybody else [in] all the world is thinking and saying” about him, however, continuing as follows:
“I feel like throughout everything that we have been going through, it has made me appreciate things I did not appreciate as much in the past.
“It’s made me do a lot of reflecting and just kind of figuring out who I am now as a man and who I wanna be in 10 years, and then 10 years from there and 10 years from there.”
Todd and Julie have already appealed their case, but have also been ordered to report to prison in Florida on January 17.
Looking towards the future, Chase alluded towards the family’s next steps and tried to offer his sister some reassurance.
“I put my faith in God, and I truly believe to my core that He will prevail, and this situation is not done,” Chase said.
“You and I both know that.”
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