Will Todd and Julie Chrisley's Prison Sentences Land Them in Divorce Court?

Marriage is difficult for every person regardless of who they are and where they come from. Of course, for Todd and Julie Chrisley, former stars of Chrisley Knows Best, their current locations could prove to be quite a nail in the marriage coffin.

After being convicted of various bank and tax fraud offensives in November 2022, Todd and Julie Chrisley have been sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively, in federal prison. What does this mean for the couple's nearly 27-year marriage? It won't be easy. Are Todd and Julie Chrisley going from federal court to divorce court? Here's what we know.

Todd and Julie tied the knot on May 25, 1996. Over the past 26 years, they managed to overcome numerous challenges together. Take, for instance, Todd's COVID-19 diagnosis in April 2020. But will the big house mean big problems? As of August 2022, Todd was pretty convinced their marriage would make it out of prison unscathed.

In an episode of his podcast, Chrisley Confessions, Todd shared that their legal troubles actually brought them closer together. "I feel like that my marriage, for me personally, internally, is the strongest that it's ever been," said Todd to Julie. "I feel like for the first time in my life and my marriage, I feel like my marriage is feeding a part of me that I didn't even know was starving."

While Julie didn't necessarily comment on the fortitude of their marriage, she did say that perhaps she and Todd had taken the reins away from their higher power. "I feel like for so long, you and I have been a team since day one," she said. "It's been you and I against the world. ... I think for both of us, this situation, our season of life right now has shown us it's not about what our plan is, it's about what God's plan is. For a long time, it was always our plan, not God's plan." It sounds like divorce isn't in the cards, or is it?

In January 2023, weeks before reporting to federal prison, Julie went on Chrisley Confessions to chat with her future daughter-in-law about some of her concerns. Emmy Medders, who is currently engaged to Chase Chrisley, inquired about the unique challenges now facing the couple. "Here is that possibility of my husband and I being separated," Julie revealed. "But there's a difference between my husband and I being separated for a period of time and having to say goodbye forever."

The "goodbye forever" comment was made in reference to the fact that Emmy's father suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease that carries with it a life expectancy of two to five years. "It almost makes me feel ashamed that I'm even worried," admitted Julie. "Unless the good Lord intervenes, [your mom is] going to have to say goodbye to her husband and she won't see him again this side of heaven."

It looks as if all is not lost for Todd and Julie Chrisley. Thankfully they will be able to keep in touch from behind bars. According to a representative from the Bureau of Prisons who spoke with Life & Style Magazine, "An inmate may be permitted to correspond with an inmate confined in any other penal or correctional institution if the other inmate is either a member of the immediate family or is a party or witness in a legal action in which both inmates are involved."

Catch new episodes of Chrisley Knows Best every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on USA Network.