Why does Julie Chrisley seem quiet – Is she still traumatized after 2 years in prison?

A former inmate is looking back on her time behind bars with Julie Chrisley.

During an appearance on the March 25 episode of Savannah Chrisley’s Unlocked, Sharita Mona — who served eight months alongside Julie, 52, in FMC Lexington in Kentucky — recalled her first encounter with the Chrisley Knows Best alum.

“She smiled, but you could tell she was in deep thought,” she shared. “She was thinking about getting where she had to go. And a few people spoke to her, but she was to her, she was by herself and kinda just with herself. She was real quiet.”

Mona — who is releasing a new book Letters to My Daughters from the Inside on April 1 — recalled Julie being a “a little card shark” while playing cards with the other ladies.

“She was playing cards, and so she played cards with some girls I was friends with,” she explained. “And they said, ‘Oh, we gotta introduce you to Julie.’ And so we spoke, but they were, like, deep into their game.”

“It wasn’t until later when we started working together that we connected,” she added, noting that they began working together within Julie’s first two or three weeks behind bars.

Mona recalled that Julie was most concerned about her family during that time, saying, “She’s worried about you all… she loves you all. You are her world.”

Savannah, 27, agreed, sharing, “She is. That’s what I tell everybody. Like, there was never a time where I was like, where is mom? Where like, is she gonna be at school today? She was always there. Always. That’s just her biggest thing is just worried about her kids. Like, forget about her.”

“She can do what she needs to do, but, like, her kids are her number one focus,” Savannah added.

Before receiving reduced sentences in 2023, Julie was sentenced to seven years in November 2022 while her 55-year-old husband, Todd, received a 12-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. They have continued appealing their cases since reporting to their respective prisons in January 2023.

After Julie’s appeal was granted in April 2024 and her seven-year sentence was vacated months later, she was resentenced to the same 84 months of prison she previously received. At the time, Todd’s sentence was upheld.

Later in the podcast, Savannah saw that her mom was calling and answered amid the recording.

When Julie found out that Mona was taking part in the podcast, the reality star said that she was “so happy,” and added, “I love it.”

After the brief conversation, the mother-daughter exchanged I love yous and Julie said she would call the next day.