Who Is Kyle Chrisley? Everything To Know About Todd Chrisley's Son From 'Chrisley Knows Best' And His Long Rap Sheet
Has the family made amends?
Instagram Who is Kyle Chrisley? In May 2019, Chrisley (son of Todd Chrisley of Chrisley Knows Best) was arrested in Oklahoma on charges of possession of methamphetamine. However, one month later, the charges were dropped.
Reportedly, there was also an open warrant out for his arrest relating to claims of death threats targeted toward Alexus Whilby, co-owner and director of Home Design and Business Development, and Kyle Chrisley’s estranged wife. There are a lot of details and confusing timelines floating around.
More recently, Chrisley opened up about his mental health and addiction issues.
Who is Kyle Chrisley? Read on to find out the details about Todd Chrisley's son.
Kyle Chrisley reportedly suffers from bipolar disorder.
Well, so says his father. He tweeted this back in 2014:
Bipolar disorder is characterized by episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. The exact cause of it isn’t known, but it’s most likely rooted in a combination of genetics, environment, and altered brain structure.
Todd Chrisley is a loving dad.
Todd Chrisley has said some pretty kind things about his volatile son. In an interview from October of 2014, he said, “Kyle is bipolar and, normally, people that are bipolar, they seek out a way to self-medicate, which is what Kyle has done since he’s been young. I want what's best for him.”
If you’re not convinced yet that he’s really trying his best to be a good dad, you should know that when Kyle absolutely roasted him in another interview around the same time, calling Todd toxic, a snake who has “ruined me and the other three kids he’s had who are spoiled,” and even accusing him of using Chloe, Kyle’s mixed-race child for better ratings on the show, this is how Todd responded:
“It’s unfortunate. It’s not telling the truth. When we were made aware of the story [Thursday] night, our publicist reached out to the editor and made her aware of the situation and the severity of Kyle’s situation and her comment to our publicist was, ‘Well, we’re going to run the story anyways. Kyle has a right to say what he wants to say and besides, it will be great for your ratings.’”
Regarding the Chloe claim, he said, “That is not true. That is probably the most hurtful thing in the article. I’m not going to focus on Kyle’s stories because that’s my son and I love him."
Kyle Chrisley has a history of abuse.
In 2013, long before this more drug arrest in Oklahoma, Chrisley lost custody of his daughter when he was arrested for the aforementioned death threats to his ex-girlfriend and Chloe’s mother, Angela Johnson.
Johnson also reported abusive behavior, saying that “He grabbed me and choked me when I was pregnant” in an interview. “There was a time when he got mad at me and came at me with a knife while I was holding Chloe. He was talking about stabbing me, then threw a bottle of pills and hit me and Chloe right in the face with them.”
Todd and his wife Julie fought and won custody of Chloe, who now lives with their family. Kyle was sent to rehab, and when he came out, that’s when he accused his father of taking Chloe from him in order to boost ratings on his show.
But Angela Johnson came to combat this, adding, “I know Todd is not using Chloe just for that TV show. If it wasn’t for Todd, me and Kyle and Chloe would have been on the side of the interstate! Todd and Julie stepped in to help me with Chloe, because Kyle would not do it.”
Chloe Chrisley appeared in season 7 of Chrisley Knows Best.
Todd Chrisley has been involved in a few controversies in his life, too.
His first wife, Teresa Terry (Kyle’s biological mother), claimed that Todd physically as well as mentally abused her several times during their long married life. She filed a case of domestic violence against him when they got divorced.
There was drama with Kyle Chrisley's wife, Alexus Whilby-Chrisley.
According to a Twitter post by Todd Chrisley in December 2014, he claimed that Alexus Whilby-Chrisley had tried to extort their family for $20,000. According to him, Alexus threatened to tell the press that they were racist unless they gave her the cash.
Todd reported this information to the police, but no arrests were made. In addition to claims of abuse toward Angela and Chloe, Kyle apparently also threatened his father while under the influence.
In 2017, things started looking up, though.
In a 2014 interview with Ryan Seacrest, Todd Chrisley said the following: “When you have a child that deals with that, today I’m your best friend, tomorrow, you don’t know who I am...As a family, it’s our job is to continue to love him and pull him through.”
He said his son was not taking meds, so he was not allowed on the show. He said he’d be welcome back on if “he got his stuff together.”
And in 2017, he did! He got sober and made amends with Alexus. They looked almost as in love as they sounded in their amateur country music video they released together in 2015.
In July of 2017, in an exlusive interview, he shared that he was hooked on drugs, but had been off them for the last four years. He and Alexus were excited to start a family in their brand new dream home in Georgia.
As wonderful as this was for Chrisley, things weren’t looking good for his father at this time.
Kyle had disclosed a few months earlier, in March 2017, that Todd had taken great measures to show that the family was staying in Florida so they could avoid paying taxes in Georgia. The bankrupsey trustee also saw that Todd Chrisley had evaded taxes for seven years in Georgia.
Chrisley was arrested for drug possession in 2019, but the charges were dropped.
In May 2019, Kyle was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. Like Narcotics Anonymous pushes for, though, the public’s focus should really be on the disease of addiction rather than any particular drug.
People tend to think drug addiction is about lack of willpower. To some extent it is, but it’s really not that simple. It’s not that people who struggle with it simply don’t care to get better and could easily just quit if they really tried to. Addiction is so much more complex and far less forgiving than most people realize.
However, the charges against Chrisley were dropped only a month later, partly due to the fact that he was facing the more serious charge for the threats he made against his wife.
Kyle Chrisley was arrested for battery against his sister in 2013.
A never-before-seen police report was uncovered in 2019 stating that, in 2012, Todd's estranged daughter, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell (Todd's daughter by his first wife), but biological brother to Todd, accused him of simple battery.
“Campbell said he balled up his right fist and struck her on the left side of the face just above the eye with the back of his hand,” the report claimed. He was arrested in April 2013.
In September 2019, Kyle opened up about his mental health and drug issues.
Chrisley joined his father on the podcast Chrisley Confessions to set the record straight on some rumors surrounding him and also revealing that he had attempted suicide. He said, "I take medication and I had a bad side effect to it, and I tried to take my own life."
In August 2019, Todd had posted a photo of his son in the hospital with their family around them and the caption, "NOT TODAY, SATAN, NOT TODAY... God shows up and shows out, no. he won't do it? Kyle is great and we are back to the grind..."
Kyle said that suicidal tendencies had been one of the side effects of the medication. However, he said that his family's support and new medication helped him to recover.
Chrisley also revealed that the reason his daughter is living with his father is due to his addiction and mental health issues. They spoke about their troubled past and Todd Chrisley said that he would always be there for his son.
Kyle Chrisley is not estranged from his family anymore.
In August 2019, Kyle revealed that he was no longer estranged from his family, and also spoke out about his father and Julie's tax evasion charges.
On Facebook, he wrote, “I’ve seen all the stories about my dad’s indictment all over the internet. I know the interview I did bashing my dad OVER A YEAR AGO is being shared on social media. Honestly, I’m tired of it. You guys don’t have the facts and I need to set the record straight once and for all. Everything I said in my interview was a lie. These allegations against my dad are all LIES!"
He was referencing a 2017 Good Morning America interview he had done.
He went on to write, “My mom [Julie Chrisley] and dad raised me. I haven’t been the best dad to Chloe [whom his parents are now raising], I’ve had a problem with drugs, I’ve acted completely ridiculous and through all that they have stood by my side. 9 months ago I went to my dad with an apology. His words were ‘I love you always, and you are forgiven’ and just like that I was welcomed back into his life with open arms.
I will be forever grateful for his love [and] graciousness. I can’t take it back so I’m telling you now, with a clear mind, my mom and dad have done nothing wrong! Today, I am sober. I am working, and I am at a good place in my life. I just want to fix what I’ve done wrong so that I am able to forgive myself.
I will continue to stand as a united front alongside my mom, my dad, and the rest of my family. My hope is that my sister Lindsie will seek the same forgiveness from my daddy as I have, that he is able to forgive her, and that my family will one day be whole again.”
He also said, “About a year and a half ago my biological mom and my sister, Lindsie were responsible for turning my dad in to the Georgia Department of Revenue for Tax evasion." Of his father, he said, "I was battling drug addiction and I felt like he [was] trying to control me so when they said if he’s locked up he can’t put you back in treatment I said okay. I should have said NO!”
Lindsie, however, has denied these claims.
Leah Scher is a recent graduate of Brandeis University and has a passion for writing about astrology, spirituality, health, and trending topics.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on May 15, 2019 and was updated with the latest information.