This article includes graphic mention of domestic violence. 

When it comes to Todd Chrisley’s spouses, his current wife and co-star, Julie Chrisley, is likely the first person to come to mind. However, before he met Julie, Todd was married to Teresa Terry — and she certainly hasn’t painted their union as a fairytale romance. Quite the contrary, Terry has previously accused Todd of physical abuse and nasty tactics during their divorce. 

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Some will know that Todd and Terry met when they were both still teenagers. Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2014, Terry shared that they’d wed two years later, after she’d fallen pregnant with Lindsie Chrisley. The former couple also went on to welcome their son Kyle Chrisley — but sometime after that, Terry told the outlet, they began having problems. For starters, she claimed, Todd was obsessive over how their home looked. “There could be no toys out, everything had to be picture perfect like a show-room. He had a mind-set that everything had a place and everything had to be in place at all times. He applied that to people as well,” she recounted, adding that Todd would also harshly criticize her appearance if she wasn’t perfectly put together.

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Unfortunately, that wasn’t all. Terry also told Daily Mail that he’d physically attacked both her and his mother, “Nanny” Faye Chrisley, and added that he’d been physical on occasions other than that, too. In particular, she claimed there had been a number of terrifying encounters between late October and early November 1994, with Todd threatening her life on one occasion and battering her naked body in another. Terry brought charges against her then-estranged husband but ultimately dropped the case at some point during the divorce proceedings. As for Todd, he told the court there was no truth to the allegations. 

Unfortunately, according to Teresa Terry, divorcing Todd Chrisley didn’t put an end to all the tumult between them. On the contrary, she told the Daily Mail that the divorce was incredibly drawn-out (partly as a result of Todd making sure he was never able to be served papers), and incredibly nasty. 

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For one, she recounted having to file a complaint when Todd refused to let her pick Lindsie Chrisley up from his parents’ house. Then, Terry said, after she started seeing her second husband before their divorce was finalized, he showed up at their home with a camera. “He sent the footage to a television special on cheating wives,” she recounted. For reference, in addition to being very much estranged from Terry at the time, he had also moved on — and Julie Chrisley was actually pregnant with their first child. 

Despite going on to make a career out of sharing his family, scandals and all with the world, Todd has never addressed Terry’s interview. Granted, he has hinted at his first wife being an absent mother, sharing in an interview with People that he believed the reason he’d never been allowed a relationship with Lindsie’s son Jackson Campbell was “because her mother didn’t hold on to her.” Yikes. As for Terry, other than Kyle Chrisley’s claim that she and Lindsie played a role in Todd’s legal issues, not much has been heard from her since that interview. We’d argue that probably stems from some serious graciousness on her part. After all, she’d told Daily Mail, “He’s not all bad. There’s good in him.” However, she nonetheless hinted at some darkness, too, noting rather ominously, “If he doesn’t get what he wants you’d better believe there will be consequences.”

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If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.