Savannah Chrisley is bracing for the challenges her mother Julie Chrisley may face upon her re-entrance to society.
On the Tuesday, July 2 episode of her Unlocked podcast, the Chrisley Knows Best alum, 26, opened up about a conversation she had with her mother following a judge’s recent ruling about her seven-year sentence.
Acknowledging how Julie may experience “PTSD” and her return home was “not gonna be easy,” Savannah revealed that the two are anticipating her acclimation to be “really difficult” given the things she’s allegedly “witnessed” and the “abuse” she’s suffered.
Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
“She was like, ‘You know, you can’t leave me when I come home. Right?'” Savannah recalled. “And I was like, ‘What do you mean? She was like, ‘I mean, I know you wanna have your own life, and I want you to do that… But for the first few months, you’re gonna have to stay with me. Like, we’re gonna have to get adjusted.'”
Savannah went on to explain how it “broke my heart” to hear how the prison system could “break people in a matter of days.”
“Just to watch my parents become so institutionalized,” she continued, before adding how she corrects Julie every time she refers to herself as an inmate. “You’re not referring to yourself like that. You are a person, and you’re worth more than the things that you’re saying to yourself.”
Vivian Zink/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
The Special Forces alum said that Julie’s return home will be “challenging” and she anticipates that “lots of therapy” will be involved.
“Anything I can do to help her get in the best space she could possibly ever be in, that’s what I’m gonna do,” she explained. “Because I can only imagine how she’s gonna feel coming home, and it’s gonna be overwhelming. And when I get the call that she can come home, I honestly don’t think I’m gonna tell anyone.”
In fact, Savannah said that she plans on bringing Julie home and getting her settled without telling her younger children, Chloe and Grayson, and having them be surprised when they walk in.
“It’s just gonna be a lot to be reintegrated back into things when you live literally in the same freaking room, 24 hours a day, freaking 365 days a year,” she continued. “It’s gonna be tough for her. So that does worry me, but at the same time, we all know we can do it.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer??, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On June 21, a judge vacated Julie’s seven-year prison sentence, stating the case lacked sufficient evidence but her husband Todd’s conviction was upheld.
The couple was first indicted by a grand jury in 2019 for tax evasion, conspiracy and bank and wire fraud. The evasion charge was later dropped but Todd, Julie and their accountant were found guilty on all other counts, beginning their sentences in January 2023.
