The Real Reason Lindsie Said Goodbye To Chrisley Knows Best

Chrisley Knows Best follows the titular family as they navigate life in Atlanta, Ga. and, more recently, Nashville, Tenn. Although lovable patriarch Todd Chrisley's kids, Chase, Savannah, and Grayson Chrisley, feature prominently on the hit show, his eldest daughter, Lindsie Chrisley, doesn't and hasn't since 2017. The former reality star and podcast host, who regularly opens up about her life with Teen Mom star Kailyn Lowry on Coffee Convos, is Todd's daughter from a previous marriage to his high school sweetheart, Teresa Terry.

Lindsie's estrangement got more complicated when her father and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were indicted on tax evasion charges in 2019, and she was implicated in pointing the finger at them. Lindsie has denied the accusations, and even alleged that Todd and Chase had attempted to blackmail her by threatening to release a sex tape if she didn't cover for them with the feds, as per TMZ. Todd denied her claims, reiterating on his podcast, Chrisley Confessions, that his oldest child is "loved" and "forgiven" no matter what (via USA Today).

So, why did Lindsie decide to leave the family's hit USA Network show in the first place?

According to the USA Network's website (via Distractify), Lindsie Chrisley's issues with her father, Todd Chrisley, began back in 2012, when she "stunned" him by eloping with husband Will Campbell and — just five months later — revealed she was pregnant with her first child (their son, Jackson, was born in 2013). 

However, as Distractify notes, Lindsie only left Chrisley Knows Best in 2017, as reports swirled about ongoing issues with her famous dad. During an episode of Coffee Convos, the former reality star revealed her family made her feel "like an outcast." Lindsie acknowledged, "Even though they didn't make me feel like that intentionally, I just felt that way."

Lindsie later admitted in a 2019 Dr. Phil interview that she never wanted to do the show in the first place, and only agreed to appear on the popular series for her father's sake. While she revealed that she was already estranged from her family during the beginning stages of her relationship with Campbell — while the two were still in college — Lindsie claimed that the reason she stepped away from Chrisley Knows Best was because of an "altercation" that occurred off-camera with stepmom Julie Chrisley. Julie has denied that anything happened. However, after the alleged incident, Lindsie felt the environment was too "volatile" for her to be around her family. "I just felt like it was the best thing for my family," she added of leaving the show, "and for my wellbeing."