Todd Chrisley Would Take Another '28 Months' In Prison To Avoid Dealing With His 'Heaviest' Fear

For former convict Todd Chrisley, the terror of spending time behind bars again isn't what keeps him up at night. It is his wife, Julie Chrisley's, health.

In 2012, the Chrisleys' family matriarch discovered she had breast cancer, following which she underwent a double mastectomy. 

The family was hit with another tragedy in 2022, as Todd and Julie were convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion, before being pardoned in May 2025 by Donald Trump. 

Spending 28 months in a federal prison, the father of five had his share of challenging experiences. However, he recently revealed that nothing compares to the fear of him dealing with his wife's life-threatening condition. 

During the July 30 episode of the "Chrisley Confessions 2.0" podcast, the patriarch got candid about his worst fear. He recalled meeting a "very wealthy" attorney in prison who told him, "This has to be the darkest day of your life."

However, the real estate mogul replied, "No, it's not," before shedding light on the actual frightening moment of his existence.

He said, "The darkest day of my life was when Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not the death of my father. It was that day." 

The businessman admitted that the news left a lasting impact, saying he now suffers from intense PTSD because of it. 

"When you talk about PTSD, people getting help for it, you and I both know that I have that because of that moment in our life," Todd candidly told his partner of three decades. 

He continued, "That still is the heaviest situation I've ever dealt with and the most feared issue that I've ever dealt with."

Todd further revealed the difficult positions he would rather be in than deal with his wife's medical condition. "I would take 28 months at FPC Pensacola any day of the week over that fear," the reality TV personality swore before sharing his reasons.

He stated, "Because at FPC Pensacola, I had an exit date. But with that diagnosis of breast cancer, I had to live every day wondering when my exit date was."

The entrepreneur reflected on the phase during his wife's ailment, noting that their relationship suffered "a lot of detachment," which they worked out.

Todd doubled down on the dreadful moment, saying, "So prison wasn't the darkest day of my life. Cancer was the darkest day of my life." The media personality also shared an insight into why he believes life behind bars was not a terrible choice compared to a terminal disease.

He said, "How could you say that was your worst experience when you come out and I have at least 75 relationships that I've made with men from all age groups that have made me a better human being."

The business mogul was deeply concerned by his wife's ailment so much that when a reporter asked him what he would change about his life, his response was "to alter his wife's diagnosis."

When one of his kids questioned why he opted to change Julie's health predicament instead of mentioning his time in confinement, he explained his decision.

According to Todd, the news of the disease placed him in "a prison of 'when are you going to strike next and what form will you strike next?'"

The media personality also shared an insight into why he believes life behind bars was not a terrible choice, given the relationships one forms there.

While Julie has been transparent about her medical conditions, several rumors of her faking the illness surfaced. However, the mom of three finally set the record straight, slamming the critics. 

 "The one thing that I wanna talk about that was in the tabloids is they said that I faked my breast cancer, and that is the craziest thing," the 52-year-old mom stated, per US Magazine.

Julie went on to clarify that the ailment occurred before her incarceration and, as such, she had time to undergo treatment.

The "Chrisley Knows Best" star faced the rumor-mongers who claimed her battle with the disease was a farce, calling their actions "disrespectful."

After Todd and Julie spent over two years apart, serving time in different penitentiaries, the Chrisley patriarch had a shocking reaction seeing his wife for the first time after her release. 

As The Blast previously reported, Todd confessed that his initial thought was to back off. "I'm not going to lie. When I first saw you when I got out of that car, I started thinking about going back," the 56-year-old revealed to his partner. 

Instead of acting on his thoughts, Todd disclosed that he chose to "embrace" her look, believing it was just for the moment and she would return to her usual style.