There have been quite a number of family-based reality TV shows that have become popular across the US and beyond. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Osborne’s, and a few others. Chrisley Knows Best has gained a big following in recent times. The show is centered around Todd Chrisley – a southern real estate mogul who runs his family and business with an iron fist.
For most viewers of Chrisley Knows Best, Todd Chrisley is the flamboyant father of a happy family who has made a fortune from real estate and is living his life to the fullest. What many don’t know is that there is a life he had before the fame and glamour. His union with Teresa Terry is one part he’d rather erase from public consciousness. This story of high school romance, unfortunately, went south leading to a very fractious break-up.
While those who follow the show might know Todd Chrisley has two children outside of the show’s nuclear family, very little know the mother of these two children.
Who Is Todd Chrisley’s First Wife?
For many years very little was known about Teresa Terry in part because she preferred to live outside the limelight and also because when she was married to Todd, he wasn’t as popular as he is now.
Due to her preference for living outside of media attention, very little is known about her personal details. What is clear is that she was born sometime in 1971 because she is two years younger than her ex-husband, Todd Chrisley who was born on the 6th of April, 1969.
The trajectory of Teresa Terry’s life changed after meeting Todd Chrisley, sparking a chain of events that ended with her becoming the ex-wife of the American businessman.
Todd Chrisley and Teresa Terry Go Back A Long way
Before the wealth, Todd was just another regular southern boy hoping to make it. Raised in Westminster, South Carolina to middle-class parents, Todd met Teresa Terry in high school and there’s was a story of your regular high school romance. Todd’s family residence was a regular melting pot for their mutual friends who’d hang out at weekends to Todd’s mum’s -Faye’s cooking. As young teenagers, Todd was not the sophisticated businessman he is today, he lived a more modest life.
As a young man, Chrisley loved soap-operas and was infatuated with TV, according to Teresa. He spoke of wanting to be a model and loved interior decorating.
The Tumultuous Romance Between Todd Chrisley And Teresa Terry
The end of Teresa Terry’s life with Todd Chrisley might color the history of their relationship but there is no denying that their beginning was a story picked out of a romantic novel. Both Teresa and Todd attended the same high school in Westminster, South Carolina, and during that time, they developed an affinity for each other.
Going out on weekends to see movies and hang out at cool spots, their teenage relationship became a blossoming relationship that endeared even their respective parents to each other.
A relationship that started while they were teenagers quickly spiraled into more when Teresa became pregnant. Todd Chrisley was 21 years of age and Teresa Terry was 19 at the time. Would their relationship have ended in a marriage without the unplanned pregnancy? One could not possibly say but it did and being in love with each other, Todd and Teresa decided to get married at a young age to make their union official.
Although having a child can be a challenge, the arrival of their first born, Lindsie Michael Todd Chrisley did not result in a breakdown of their relationship.
What cracks led to the end of their Marriage?
As a young couple, their life was simple and adventurous. Todd was honing his skills in real estate. He would get scrappy houses, rejig and modify it, scout for potential buys and sell to the highest bidder. While he was fixing the house, he’d move in with his young family until he is done and move to the next house. It was a dynamic and exciting life.
This would, however, take a turn for the worst 15 months after their first child. The couple welcomed their second child Kyle Chrisley and all of a sudden things no longer seemed as rosy as it used to be for the young couple.
The resultant breakdown of their relationship manifested in domestic abuse on the part of Todd Chrisley, who is described by his ex-wife to be a control freak. She is on record as saying she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse. Todd was an activity-driven perfectionist who wanted the home perfect at all times, this was increasingly becoming unrealistic as Teresa grappled with two hyperactive toddlers who ensured some level of chaos was never far away. Todd was constantly irritated.
The control freak in him meant he wanted to micro-manage Teresa’s appearance, always wanting her to look picture-perfect all the time. Occasionally Teresa would snap, and Todd would rage. The physical and emotional abuse got to a point that it became impractical for their union to continue.
With no improvement in sight, Teresa Terry decided to call an end to the marriage, filing for a divorce in November 1994. Much like the latter end of the marriage itself, the divorce was a messy affair with a long-drawn battle over custody of their two children.
After two years of filing for a divorce, Teresa Terry finally achieved a completed divorce from Todd Chrisley in 1996, with the court approving joint legal and physical custody of their children.
Although Teresa and Todd still had their conflicts after the divorce, they mostly moved on with their respective lives with Todd Chrisley getting married to Julie Chrisley and giving birth to another set of children while Teresa Terry found another partner.
The Kids From Teresa And Todds Marriage Are Doing Just Fine
Teresa Terry’s children have grown up enough to have lives of their own. Kyle Chrisley has gotten married to Alexus Whilby and has fathered a child, Chloe Chrisley. He has had a path littered with struggles with drugs and alcohol but he continues to endeavor to be a better person.
Lindsie Chrisley, on the other hand, has a strained relationship with her mother and has been married to Will Campbell since 2012. She has made appearances on her father’s show, Chrisley Knows Best, and has given birth to a child, Jackson Campbell.
After the shenanigans around their breakup and subsequent divorce, Teressa is remarried to an unidentified man. They both live in rural Oklahoma.
