Distance makes the Chrisley heart grow fonder.
Todd Chrisley said he was “thankful and grateful” for his years-long estrangement from his oldest daughter, Lindsie, according to People.
In the upcoming episode of “Chrisley Confessions,” Lindsie joined her parents, Todd and Julie, to discuss the epic family fight that resulted in her stepping away from their reality show, “Chrisley Knows Best,” in 2017.
“Looking back, we needed this estrangement,” Todd, 53, said as Lindsie agreed. “Because there’s no way I’d be where I am today if I had not — really, if [Lindsie] had not forced the estrangement by leaving ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ and cutting off communication.”
He clarified that although he “wasn’t [prepared]” for it, the estrangement made him a better father.
“I didn’t know how to function without talking to y’all every day of my life, 100 times a day, knowing every move you were making,” he said.
Lindsie, 33, also reflected on her decision to leave the family, saying she “would have” listened to them more and tried to work things out if she could go back in time.
“This all had to happen,” Todd reassured his oldest daughter, “You and I, I don’t believe, would be where we are today without the estrangement.”
Although both Lindsie and Todd had vowed to “never” speak to each other again, the two reconciled over the summer amid her parents’ legal woes.
The former reality star proudly stood by her parents’ side after they were convicted on multiple fraud charges — but she had previously claimed their reunion had “nothing” to do with the trial.
“I can confidently tell you there was no reconnection due to any legal reasons whatsoever,” she said on her “Southern Tea” podcast back in August. “Nothing like that ever transpired.”
In fact, Lindsie says it was her 2021 divorce from Will Campbell as the reason for their newfound amity.
“After my divorce stuff had become public, my dad had posted, ‘I’m here, I love you, whatever’s going on in your life right now I see it,’” she recalled, adding that they were “definitely” able “to reconnect” because of her divorce.
The former reality star even publicly shared her love for her estranged family during another podcast episode in June following their guilty verdict.
“I will also go on record today and say that I love my parents, I love my siblings, I love my grandmother,” she said on the “Coffee Convos” podcast.
“And what is the future of our relationships at this point, I’m currently not going to discuss any more than that, other than the fact that I love them and I stand with them. And I will continue to stand with them through the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Todd shares Savannah, Chase and Grayson with wife Julie, while he also shares Lindsie and son Kyle with ex-wife Teresa Terry.