Savannah Chrisley can sum up with two words why her dad, Todd Chrisley, is “very against” meeting her new boyfriend — “male pride.”
The 26-year-old host of the popular Unlocked podcast told ET’s Rachel Smith that her parents, including mom Julie Chrisley, know about her budding relationship with boyfriend Robert Shiver, but they have not yet met him in person. And at least for one parent, that won’t be happening anytime soon.
“You know, Dad is very against it just because, ‘He’s not gonna see me in this atmosphere and this environment,’ and I feel like it’s more a male pride type of thing,” Savannah said Thursday while giving ET an exclusive tour of her home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Savannah’s parents are currently serving a combined 19-year prison sentence following their conviction in June 2022 on federal tax evasion and fraud charges. As for mom, Savannah says she’s champing at the bit to meet him.
“Mom’s very much all for it ’cause she’s like, ‘Hey, if y’all are gonna end up together I need to meet him,'” Savannah says. “And I sent her pictures of us, obviously, and she’s heard all the stories, so she is, like, vicariously living through me. So, he definitely will meet Mom, for sure. Who knows about Dad, but like I said, hopefully things go in our favor and they’ll be home sooner than later.”
One of the things Savannah misses about her father is having the ability to chit-chat with him about her relationships, especially now.
“Anyone I’ve ever dated, he and I have spoken about, like, I’ve told him everything,” Savannah explains. “So, I long for those conversations — to have them, to tell him all the amazing things that are happening within my relationship and how awesome Robert is and how he’s responded to certain situations; how he has responded to situations in my life is something I’ve always wanted … we both are very similar, so that’s a thing I feel, like, he’s the male version of me.”
Earlier this week, Savannah went Instagram official with Robert when she shared a three-image carousel. In one of those pics, he plants a kiss on her.
“I feel like God knew that we needed each other during this phase of our life,” she previously told ET, alluding to her parents’ lengthy prison sentence and an alleged plot on Robert’s life. According to The New York Post, Robert’s estranged wife, Lindsay, was accused of plotting to have the former Auburn football player killed by a hitman.
The fact that Robert is still married to Lindsay — never mind her legal troubles — is an issue being made by others, and Savannah’s trying to tune out the noise amid the positive vibes she’s enjoying in her new relationship.
“Everything that’s going on in his life it could last years, you know? I’m like, ‘Hey, he had filed for divorce.’ Like, I get it, yeah, I would love it if he was legally divorced but like, what’s he supposed to do? Wait two or three years in order to move on?” Savannah says. “That’s the tough part, just hearing all the flak that’s coming my way.”
But it hasn’t all been flak. In fact, Savannah says the reaction she’s gotten about her relationship has mostly been positive.
“It just sucks when you have something so great and you’re like, all these outside sources try to taint it and tear it down,” she says. “But also, like, all right, 95 percent of it is positive … I’ve gotten close with his friends, which has been awesome. I’m hanging out with some of his friends in like a week, and just them, not even him, which is fun. So, it’s kind of intertwining our lives.”
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