Savannah Chrisley is opening up about the challenges she faced taking on the responsibilities of raising her younger family members after her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley reported to prison last month.
In a recent episode of her podcast "Unlocked With Savannah Chrisley," the 25-year-old reality star detailed a vulnerable moment while caring for her brother Grayson, 16, and niece Chloe, 10. The latter has been raised by Todd Chrisley, 53, and Julie Chrisley, 50, due to their son Kyle Chrisley's struggles with substance abuse.
"We need to figure out healthier ways to cope with things and deal with things, even if it's just little things I'm trying to implement. Because I'm not their mom. I'm not their dad. I'm their sister. I want to stay in that role as a sister, but it's hard when you have to be [a] parent, you have to discipline," she explained.
"The other night, I just had a full-on breakdown," she continued. "I was trying to find Chloe proper clothes to go and visit my parents and find her hair stuff. I just sat down on the floor and just started crying."
She added, "I am not my mother. How am I going to do this? I don't feel that I am worthy or capable enough of doing the job she's done for all her life."
Last November, a U.S. district judge sentenced Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley, who became famous for their show "Chrisley Knows Best," to a combined 19 years in prison on charges including fraud and tax evasion. Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 16 months of probation while Julie was ordered to serve seven years in prison and 16 months of probation.
A lawyer for the couple said in a statement to several media outlets at the time that they planned to fight their convictions, claiming that the trial had been "marred by serious and repeated errors" and saying they were "optimistic about the road ahead."
Despite the hardship, Savannah Chrisley said she eventually found peace while navigating through the circumstances.
"I had a conversation with my dad and he was like, 'You know what, Savannah? This is going to be the hardest, but most rewarding thing you've ever done.' I'm starting to see that," she said. "It's so crazy because I went from a place, sitting in the same chair talking about how mad I was at God, 'Why would you allow all these things to happen? One thing after the other. Where are you?' Now I'm in a place of such peace."
Reflecting on her family's situation, she added, "Looking at them, I'm like, 'You know what, I know how I feel going through this trauma. I cannot imagine how two kids feel going through it. It's like, you know what, there's something bigger than me here -- there's a 10-year-old, there's a 16-year-old, so now we've got to get through this in a healthy manner, and it's hard."
In an earlier episode of her podcast last month, Savannah Chrisley spoke about her parents' imprisonment, saying the week they reported to prison "was an extremely difficult week for my family as a whole and for each of us individually."
"We kind of had to say goodbye to my parents for a little bit of time, for the foreseeable future. And that was really, really, really tough," she said.
