Todd Chrisley Flipped Houses Before He Found Fame With 'Chrisley Knows Best'

Before finding the path to fame, Todd Chrisley was working as a real estate investor — and at one point in his career, he even had plans to open a department store, Chrisley and Company. 

The plans got cut short, however, when his real estate firm, Chrisley Asset Management, went bust during the 2008 financial crisis. Todd is now a recognized media personality — but how exactly did he become famous? What's his recipe for success? 

Todd spent the first few years of his work life flipping houses — with each project likely doubling as a creative outlet where he could make use of his exceptional taste. 

He switched tact sometime around 2014, when All3Media and Maverick Television approached him with an idea for a reality TV show — and the rest was history. Soon after, Chrisley Knows Best was born. 

An extremely ambitious young man hailing from a middle-class family, Todd realized early on that he could easily earn money by utilizing his strong sense of style and work ethic. As his ex-wife, Teresa Terry told MailOnline, he took up an interest in home refurbishing projects when he was still in his twenties. 

"He liked real estate, that's where he made all his money and that's what he did from the beginning. He'd find houses ... He'd fix them up and make them amazing and then it was onto the next house," Teresa told MailOnline. 

As Teresa also told the outlet, Todd stood out from the crowd even as a teenager. His interest in quality clothing and everything TV-related made him all the more fascinating, she told MailOnline. 

Todd's marriage with Teresa came to an end in 1996. Reportedly, he married Julie, his second wife, only a month after the divorce was finalized. Commercial success came around about a decade later.

Sometime around 2014, Todd got approached by All3Media and Maverick Television, who offered to put together a sizzle reel. The short clip turned out to be a real hit — with nine out of 10 networks putting in an offer, as per Country Living. 

"I always knew there was some crazy, but they felt like it was a show. And so I thought 'Wow, the world really does have a desire for crazy," Todd described the experience in a previous interview with OK!. 

Chrisley Knows Best premiered on the USA Network in 2014. It's understood that Todd and Julie were undergoing bankruptcy proceedings at the time. 

In 2019, Todd and Julie found themselves in hot water once again when the legal proceedings concerning wire fraud, conspiracy bank fraud, and tax evasion, and others, began.

Todd's strained relationship with Lindsie and Kyle, his kids from his first marriage, garnered a great deal of scrutiny as well. 

Catch new episodes of Chrisley Knows Best every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network.