Chloe Chrisley and Angela Johnson Courtesy of Angela Johnson/Twitter
The mother of Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley’s adopted daughter claims she is fighting to regain custody amid the couple’s legal woes.
Angela Johnson, who welcomed daughter Chloe in 2012, addressed her plans to take legal action on Monday, December 5. “I want her home. She deserves to be home,” Johnson told TMZ, noting she is “in the process” of filing paperwork. “I’m her biological mom. I didn’t walk away from her. I was pushed out of her life.”
Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley at the 1st Annual Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye Benefit Concert AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Amid her romance with Kyle Chrisley, Johnson gave birth to their child. She shared custody of the now-10-year-old with Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, in 2014. (Kyle, 31, for his part, lost custody in 2013 after getting arrested and charged with assault.)
Todd and Julie obtained full custody of their granddaughter in 2016 after Johnson was arrested for allegedly defrauding Medicaid and food stamps.
At the time, Kyle took to social media to thank his parents for their support, writing via Facebook, “I haven’t been the best dad to Chloe, I’ve had a problem with drugs, I’ve acted completely ridiculous and through all that, they have stood by my side.”
Chrisley Knows Best viewers saw the ups and downs between Kyle and his family as he battled legal issues and his struggle with addiction. After reconciling with the reality stars, Kyle opened up about coming back into his daughter’s life.
“My mom [Julie] and dad raised me,” he wrote via Instagram in August 2019. “I haven’t been the best dad to [daughter] Chloe, I’ve had a problem with drugs, I’ve acted completely ridiculously, and through all that, they have stood by my side. Nine months ago, I went to my dad with an apology. His words were ‘I love you always, and you are forgiven’ and just like that, I was welcomed back into his life with open arms. I will be forever grateful for his love [and] graciousness.”
That same year, Todd and Julie were indicted on tax evasion charges. The couple, who also share kids Lindsie, 33, Chase, 26, Savannah, 25, and Grayson, 16, denied the allegations. In June, the TV personalities were found guilty of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. Julie was ordered to seven years in prison while her husband was issued a 12-year prison sentence.
Ahead of their sentencing last month, Savannah confirmed that she has custody of Chloe and Grayson.
“[I”m] trying to navigate how you teach two younger children who aren’t fully developed yet and get them to understand the circumstances,” she explained on her “Unlocked” podcast. “That’s a really, really difficult thing.”
In a different pre-recorded episode, Savannah also slammed the justice system in response to her mother and father’s legal troubles.
“Why do we continue to fail people? It tears families apart,” she added. “Look at everything that we’re going through. How is that just? It’s not when you’ve got rapists and murderers and traffickers and all these people out here but yet, what? They just get a slap on the wrist.”
She continued: “It all goes down to us being in the public eye and someone wanting to prove a point. And it’s honestly sad. At this point, I feel like, for me, I’ve kinda become numb to it but that numbness has turned to anger, to where now, it’s just like I’m not giving up. There’s no other option.”