Todd Chrisley seldom talks about his marriage to ex-wife Teresa Terry. The Chrisley Knows Best star married his high school sweetheart when they were very young and they share two kids, Lindsie and Kyle. Who was his spouse before he married Julie Chrisley in 1996? Keep reading for details on their drama-fueled relationship.
Todd and Teresa met in high school and got married after she became pregnant with their oldest child, Lindsie, at the age of 19. “Most likely, we wouldn’t have married if I hadn’t been pregnant, but we did and it was a big deal,” Teresa said during an interview with DailyMail in 2014.
15 months after giving birth to Lindsie, the young couple welcomed their son, Kyle. “We were both headstrong,” Teresa added about their tumultuous marriage. “He likes to control his environment. That is one part of [Chrisley Knows Best] that is not fiction, and it drove me crazy.”
During their seven years, Teresa claimed they separated multiple times. She filed a domestic abuse complaint against Todd in 1992 claiming he “battered” her. Todd denied every allegation, and Teresa eventually dropped the domestic violence case amid their divorce in 1996.
While you may think that would be the end of their chapter together, they were in and out of the courtroom multiple times. Teresa filed a criminal complaint against Todd alleging “unlawful abduction” in 1994 after she claimed the real estate mogul “wouldn’t let” Teresa have Lindsie when she went to pick her up from his parents’ house.
“It was hard, but I did get her back. She was gone about two months. She’s old enough to remember,” Teresa recalled. Todd denied these allegations from his ex.
They were eventually granted joint physical and legal custody of their kids during their divorce agreement. In 2000, Todd, whose fortune was booming at the time, moved to Atlanta and began a second custody battle.
Two years later, the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, granted the exes shared legal custody of Lindsie and Kyle but part of the agreement included their kids going to school in Atlanta, despite Teresa living in South Carolina. The agreement stated their mother would have them three weekends a month and for vacations and holidays in even-numbered years. Teresa claimed “that never happened,” and the visitations with her kids were less. “Todd has a way of getting what he wants,” she said.
Todd went after his ex-wife again in 2012 and sued her for $1 million in child support. He lost the case.
As for his relationship with Julie, the reality couple has been married for 18 years. They walked down the aisle in 1996, one month after his divorce from Teresa was finalized. Julie was nine months pregnant with their son, Chase, at the time. They welcomed Savannah in 1997 and Grayson in 2006.
“It’s been a wild ride I’ll tell you that. But I don’t regret marrying Todd because I sure don’t regret my children,” Teresa said.