Chase Chrisley Says He Turned to Alcohol During Parents’ Prison Time

Chase Chrisley had a hard time handling his parents’ time in prison. 

The 29-year-old son of Todd Chrisley, 56, and Julie Chrisley, 52, joined his mom and dad on the pre-taped Thursday, Sept. 17 episode of the Tamron Hall show, where he opened up about life without them as they served time for financial crimes.

“Our family’s really close,” Todd said in a clip shared with PEOPLE ahead of the episode’s airing. “When you lose the backbone of your family, there’s nothing that can prepare you for that.” 

“Did I handle it the best way? No. I learned a very valuable lesson, I did,” the reality star continued. 

Todd admitted he wasn’t surprised his son turned to drinking while he and his wife were away. 

“Well, I have never had alcohol,” the father of five told Hall. “So it’s never been around us.”

According to the patriarch, he and Julie being away wasn’t Chase’s first time tackling a drinking problem. 

“I think around 18, 17, and it continued,” Todd explained. “He would go out, or he would go to the Bahamas or wherever, and I said, ‘You need to stop with this drinking. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but there’s no good to come from it.’ ”

Todd went on to say that everything happens for a reason, and that it took Chase “getting a mugshot for him to say, ‘Okay, maybe daddy was right.’ ” In January, Chase was arrested for simple battery after being named a suspect in a bar assault incident.

Chase told Hall that hearing his father’s words made him realize Todd was right, “but I’ve always had to learn the hard way, and this was no exception.”

The Chrisley Knows Best alum confessed that his drinking “absolutely” got worse when his parents were indicted on federal charges of tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy. Todd and Julie were found guilty on all counts in June 2022 and were sentenced to a combined 19 years in federal prison.

They were pardoned by President Donald Trump in May 2025 after spending over two years in prison.

“I just didn’t know, really, how to process my emotions and how I was feeling,” Chase continued in Thursday’s episode. “I just turned to drinking.”

The audience applauded him as he shared that he’s sober now; however, Chase reiterated that he learned “a valuable lesson.”

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In the Tuesday, Sept. 16 episode of the Chrisley Confessions podcast, Todd vowed to always be there for his kids when they need him moving forward. 

“I’m not going to ever walk away from one of my kids. I’m not going to walk away from Chase when he’s down, when he’s having an issue…” he said. “I’m not losing my child to anything.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.