The Chrisley family has been synonymous with reality TV for years now, and they continue to be linked to it. Julie, Todd and their southern brood rose to prominence via USA Network’s Chrisley Knows Best, which provided an intimate look at their domestic lives. Those familial dynamics have been explored on an even deeper level in the clan’s latest show, Back to Reality. Todd has been relatively open to various facets of his and his family’s lives being explored on air, but there’s one thing he’d would’ve preferred to be left out.
Amid the 2025 TV schedule, The Chrisleys: Back to Reality (which was ordered by Lifetime) following Savannah Chrisley and her siblings as parents Todd and Julie remained in prison for tax fraud and more. Savannah and brother Chase’s sibling conflicts took center stage, but another set of family-related issues were highlighted, too. Amid the show, Savannah made brutally honest comments about the state of her relationship with her paternal grandfather, Harvey Hughes.
During an episode of the Chrisley Confessions 2.0 podcast (as seen on YouTube), Todd and Julie spoke about the drama involving the latter’s father. Todd then admitted that he was “not in favor” of that aspect of the family’s personal life being tackled with Savannah. With that, the father of six explained his rationale for his viewpoint while talking to Julie:
I look at it from the perspective of — and you know when I say this, you’re going to know that I’ve already said it. I feel like that, in some situations, less is more, and you know that I was not in favor once I found out that this had been aired and [Savannah] had said some of the things she’d said. Because I felt that out of respect to you, as her mother – if you want to call him out [for] not being there for you and not being the grandfather he should’ve been, then that should’ve been done off camera. But [it] wasn’t my choice.
The issues between Savannah Chrisley and Harvey Hughes on the show, in great part, had to do with their feelings towards Chase. Savannah argued that Harvey had always favored her brother, who was dealing with alcohol addiction while the show was being filmed. Harvey also admitted to not being “fair” towards Savannah and had in many ways used Chase as a means to fill a “void” following the death of his own son, Trey. At one point, Harvey also critiqued Savannah’s handling of her parents’ legal situation, leading her to mouth, “I hate him.” Still, Harvey expressed his desire to patch things up with his granddaughter, and they shared a moment in which they both expressed love for each other.
While Todd Chrisley didn’t agree with all of the previously mentioned drama playing out on the small screen, he did express empathy for his daughter. He went on to share the following take on her personal experiences:
I don’t get to feel her hurt, I don’t get to feel her pain. I don’t get to feel how — I don’t know how she feels. I know how she says that she feels, that everything was done for Chase, that nothing was done for her. And it really has been that way her whole life, and so I think that that’s accumulated from childhood on.
Julie and Todd Chrisley apparently didn’t have a massive amount of creative say on Back to Reality, given that they were still in prison. During filming, though, the couple was pardoned by POTUS and ultimately took part in the final few episodes of the docuseries.
As of this writing, Savannah Chrisley has yet to weigh in on her father’s reaction to her on-screen drama with her grandfather. Considering this particular disagreement regarding content for a show, I’m curious as to how this might inform the way the Chrisleys handle future TV projects. For now, though, check out all episodes of Back to Reality on Lifetime’s website and stream seasons of Chrisley Knows best with a Peacock subscription.
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