Todd Chrisley back at Florida prison ahead of its closing: What's next for reality TV star

"Was it weird? Was it awkward?"

Those are the questions people had been asking Julie Chrisley about reuniting with her husband Todd Chrisley weeks after the reality TV couple's prison release.

Those same questions could have applied to Todd Chrisley's return to prison as a guest speaker − and not as an inmate.

On Thursday, Aug. 14, almost three months after Todd Chrisley left Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, thanks to a full pardon from President Donald Trump, the "Chrisley Knows Best" reality TV star was invited back there to speak at the final residential drug abuse program (or RDAP) graduation ceremony before FPC Pensacola closes (see below).

Though the graduation ceremony was not open to the news media, the Pensacola News Journal interviewed Chrisley just outside the guarded gate at NAS Saufley Field.

“My time in Pensacola (before) was not a great experience, but what I've seen today, the people have been lovely,” said Todd Chrisley, who turned himself in to FPC Pensacola in January 2023 after being convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud. His wife and "According to Chrisley" co-star Julie Chrisley served time at FMC Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky, from January 2023 to May 2025.

Todd Chrisley told the Pensacola News Journal, a USA TODAY Network newspaper in Florida, that he had worked on his speech for the graduation ceremony for about a month, and he had intended for it to be uplifting: "I wanted to instill hope in these men, my friends, and, but I also want it to be very revealing," Chrisley said. "I want to give them the credit for the sacrifices that they've made to go through this program because this program is not an easy program."

This time, Todd Chrisley was a guest at the prison camp in Pensacola. What he said about his return visit

A month after Todd and Julie Chrisley were released from their respective prisons, Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, sat down with the Chrisleys at their home in Nashville, Tennessee, for an episode of her Fox News show, "My View with Lara Trump." It was their first return to TV since they were convicted in 2022 and imprisoned in 2023. The couple opened up about their experience in prison and the recent pardon and the "28 months" they had gone without speaking to each other. Said Todd Chrisley: "It's amazing. ... You know, you go to bed and you're in a prison, and you wake up the next day and President Trump has sent you home."

Below is information about Todd and Julie Chrisley, their life in prison and the Trump pardon.

Who are Todd and Julie Chrisley? When were 'Chrisley Knows Best' reality TV stars released from prison?

For years, Todd and Julie Chrisley portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons on the USA Network series “Chrisley Knows Best,” which documented the Chrisleys' lavish lifestyle in Atlanta and Nashville. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired spinoffs such as "Growing Up Chrisley" and "According to Chrisley."

However, their image as savvy real estate tycoons was sullied in June 2022, when the pair was found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans, which funded their luxurious lifestyle. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.

On May 28, 2025, Donald Trump, a former reality TV star himself, issued a full pardon for Todd and Julie Chrisley. The couple exited their respective prisons the next day.

Todd Chrisley had originally received a 12-year sentence, with seven years for Julie Chrisley. Todd Chrisley was released from a federal prison in Pensacola, and Julie Chrisley was released an hour later from federal custody in Lexington, Kentucky.

➤ 'According to Chrisley' stars timeline: From reality TV to prison to pardon for Todd and Julie

Why is FPC Pensacola, a Florida prison where Todd Chrisley served time, closing?

The federal government says FPC Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, is closing due to safety concerns over staffing shortages and crumbling infrastructure. The Navy is expected to demolish the buildings used there once the camp is closed.

During his time there, Todd Chrisley sounded the alarm about what he said were poor conditions at the camp including black mold and asbestos, as well as “corrupt” staff that lead to people not getting decent food or medical care, among other issues.

He supports the program but is glad to see this camp closed.

“We had a hand in it, but I like to say that God closed it,” Todd Chrisley said during an Aug. 14 appearance at FPC Pensacola. “I think that more will come. We as a country incarcerate more individuals, our own people, than anywhere else in the world. Yet we have the highest recidivism rate of anywhere else in the world. So that should tell you there, just by looking at numbers that what we're doing is not right. It’s not working.”

After prison release and Trump pardon, what's next for reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley?

In the Lara Trump interview on Fox News Channel, the reality TV stars confirmed a return to the small screen: "We're coming back to television," Todd Chrisley said.

When Donald Trump's daughter-in-law asked what was next for the embattled reality TV couple, Todd Chrisley responded: "It's amazing that those that walked away from you are the first ones knocking at the door again. So we're coming back to television, and I think that we're heading back home. We're heading back to South Carolina where we came from, and we're going to open a hotel there, and we're going to create a show around it, and we're going to hopefully be grandparents at some point."

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Todd Chrisley back at Florida prison ahead of its closing: What's next for reality TV star