Although Julie Chrisley begins her 51st birthday under less than ideal circumstances, she still has the love of her family to sustain her.
A source confirms to PEOPLE that Julie, who turns 51 on Tuesday, will receive a special visit from daughter Savannah Chrisley at her prison in Kentucky. The Unlocked the podcast host will be joined by younger siblings Grayson, 17, and Chloe, 10.
Chrisley family attorney Alex Little of Burr & Forman LLP also tells PEOPLE how “hopeful” Julie has remained amid the challenging times.
“Julie is strong and optimistic and she certainly doesn’t want to be behind bars for her birthday,” says Little. “But he hopes that with the appeal this will be the last birthday he spends in bars.”
While there’s no “real news” about the “long” appeals process ahead, Little notes that Julie and her husband Todd Chrisley’s oral argument date has been moved from March 2024 to April 2024. “It’s like the Supreme Court arguing with different to judges. So it’s just judges and lawyers,” he adds.
Savannah Chrisley and nanny Faye become emotional over the disappearance of ‘everyone’s carer’ Julie while in prison
Julie, along with her husband Todd, was convicted in November 2022 of tax evasion and fraud. She checked into Lexington Federal Medical Center last January.
Julie was originally expected to serve seven years of her combined 19-year sentence with Todd, but her sentence was reduced to five years in September 2023. Todd’s sentence was moved from 12 to 10 years.
During their time behind bars, Julie and Todd, 54, faced challenges. But Savannah, 26, previously said her mother was “definitely having a harder time”.
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(L-R) Julie Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley and Todd Chrisley.
Vivian Zink/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Savannah Chrisley admits mom Julie is ‘scared’ in prison — but says she’s ‘trying to protect us from a lot’
“She’s just busy. You know, like, trying to do anything and everything, going to classes, [be] first bat—everything known to man she can do, she does,” Savannah said at her Unlocked podcast in May 2023.
“And you know my mom. Like, she walks in the room, if something needs to be done, she just starts doing it,” Savannah continued. “So she’s trying to stay busy. Her health, she’s trying to focus on that. I think she’s trying to protect us from a lot of things. Because that’s my mom. That’s who she is.”
Julie and Todd — who have been married since 1996 — began appealing their case in December 2022. Savannah has since provided positive updates on that front, revealing in November 2023 that “the appeals court accepted our oral arguments.”
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(L-R) Chase Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley, Nanny Faye Chrisley, Todd Chrisley, Chloe Chrisley and Julie Chrisley. Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank
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Choking up as she explained the “big news,” Savannah said her family is now “one step closer to bringing mom and dad home.”
“Only about 6 percent of the cases submitted for oral argument are accepted. So this is big news,” she explained in her Instagram video. “We have to go and argue about why mommy and daddy should be home. So God is good.”
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Source: HIS Education