Chrisley Knows Best: Details About Nanny Faye

In 2014, America was introduced to the larger-than-life universe of the Chrisleys through the USA Network television series "Chrisley Knows Best." Led by patriarch Todd Chrisley, who brings a literal meaning to the phrase "my way or the highway," viewers watched the family transition from the state of Georgia to Nashville, where they've flipped houses, run businesses, and, when all was said and done, exited the scene by making their biggest headline yet.

Following Todd and Julie Chrisley's November 2022 sentences for fraud and tax evasion, Deadline reported that the parent reality show and its spin-off, "Growing Up Chrisley," would end their respective runs. Although the news is met with sadness by fans, the show's highlights are worth a trip down memory lane. Todd's mother Faye Chrisley — fondly christened Nanny Faye — is no stranger to stealing the spotlight.

To quote Faye's famous words, "Money! Money! Money!" The 78-year-old often wowed the audience with her love for Benjamins. In a 2021 episode, Faye had arrived at the grand conclusion that selling her used stuff would help her smile all the way to the bank. "Well, we went to that estate sale and we seen how much money they make off of that stuff," she said, "So, we're gonna do one of our own." This kind of thinking has afforded Faye a life on the edge that is well documented. Let's dive into her interesting world, both on and off the screen.

Although Nanny Faye and her family lived lavishly on "Chrisley Knows Best," that wasn't always the case for Faye. Her upbringing was in many ways a contrast to the opulent normalcy to which she'd gotten accustomed. Faye hinted at a life of struggle in the episode "Down on the Farm" in the show's 7th season, while addressing her spoilt grandchildren who were glued to their devices.

"Y'all addicted to technology," Nanny Faye claimed. Her grandson Chase retorted, "You use technology more than we do." That's when Nanny Faye brought up her background: "I don't, because I think about how hard I had to work, milking cows every morning at 4:30 in the morning, and then going to feed the hogs and the chickens," she said. Finally, Faye challenged the kids: "Y'all couldn't survive one week on what I had to do." She proposed a $200 bet to see if Chase and Grayson could handle the country life. When they struggled even to mulch the yard, the boys turned it around on Nanny Faye to see if she could endure a hard day's work. The farm life is one which Faye knows her way around, so she rose to the challenge and won. 

Continuing the theme, a commercial for "Chrisley Knows Best" on Facebook had Nanny Faye hilariously narrating a story titled "Hoeing Around on the Farm." Its plot was a desolate housewife eyeing a "new young stallion of a farmhand" when her husband was deployed.

Nanny Faye Chrisley has always held her son, Todd Chrisley, in high regard. "I thought he'd be something great," she said right before filming a Mother's Day special on "The Steve Harvey Show." Many years later, in 2022, Todd thinks just as highly of his mother. "I am so blessed to have you in my life every day, you have carried me through every storm in my life," he wrote as part of an Instagram tribute. Their relationship dynamic has evolved through the years, with the son parenting the parent at times.

In a Season 4 episode titled "Hawaii Love You So," Faye may have gotten ahead of herself while exploring the island life. She tried to convince Todd that alcohol hadn't taken a toll on her, per People, but the latter wasn't having it. "I just had a shot or two. I just toast a couple of times. I didn't really drink," said Faye. Savannah told her concerned father, "We went to ride horses. We didn't know Granny was going to get drunk." 

Mother and son appear to have a comical relationship, even as he keeps watch over her financial choices, alcohol consumption, and social engagements. "Todd, I can't understand why you don't want me to have fun, because I have earned it," she said in a Season 5 confessional. He answered, "Mama, listen, I want you to have fun. I just don't want you to be having fun while you're drunk." "Well, it sounds fun to me," she laughed. 

Fans of "Chrisley Knows Best" will agree that Nanny Faye has lived her life to the fullest, at least the televised bits of it. In the sneak peek of a 2019 episode shared on Faye's Instagram account, she is out riding a bike ride and expresses regret over not learning how to swim. Her grandson Chase Chrisley offers to get her an instructor. When a man with a chiseled body shows up, Faye goes off the rails. "I'm losin' my breath," Faye exclaims. "Lord have mercy!" she shouts via voiceover, while seen tightly hugging her nicely-built instructor. That she is spotting a colorful swimming cap only adds to the humor.

On a separate occasion, Faye attends a burlesque class with her sister, Francis Chrisley. "We need to get our sexiness back," her sister declares. Francis, whose death was announced by Todd Chrisley in a March 2022 post, was the Khloé to Faye's Kim. The self-proclaimed bad b**** did it all – wine tasting, neighborhood watch, and looking for the right man. 

Faye's penchant for gambling, much to Todd Chrisley's dismay, also made it to the screen. On how she chooses to live, Faye cemented her stance with an Instagram caption: "I do what I want, everyone knows that!"

In 2014, Radar obtained evidence that Nanny Faye was allegedly about to lose her Alpharetta, Georgia home, following Todd Chrisley's bankruptcy. Faye's supposed looming foreclosure came about due to Todd's default on a $362,300 loan. Radar further published the said court records, which have since been deleted.

Faye seemed to be in good financial shape many years later. During Season 9 of "Chrisley Knows Best," she housed Todd and his family while they sold their home (again) — an experience that must have been half-pleasant, half-aggravating, thanks to her son's controlling nature. In an episode dubbed "Welcome to the Doghouse," Todd is quite the unreasonable houseguest. "Mama, what's the thread count on those sheets?" he asks her. "Why do you have these cheap-a** hangers?" he demands to know. 

The star has the audacity to say, "Mama, I was thinkin' since I have so much more clothes I've gotta bring over, that maybe I'll take one of your walk-in closets." This is the last straw for Nanny Faye, who pushes back and surprises her son by sharing that her walk-in closets are private, personal storage spaces. "Fifty shades of Faye," she clarifies.

There's no doubt that Nanny Faye Chrisley has an undying love for her family. She shows up on every occasion, even those that beat logic. Case in point, Faye shared an Instagram post with the caption, "I'll do anything for my granddaughter." In the short clip, which eventually aired on "Chrisley Knows Best," Faye gets a spray-tan with the help of Savannah Chrisley, and as soon as Julie Chrisley sets sight on a half-dressed Faye, she's taken aback. " Oh My God!" Julie shrieks, "Trial and error, but this is error and error."

More than once, Faye has shared posts of herself hugging her grandchildren, who keep her on her toes. Pranks, as it turns out, are part of the Chrisley family equation. Faye once pulled a fast one on the entire family when a penis-shaped package landed at the Chrisley doorstep. Everyone jumped to conclusions, only for Faye to unveil a lint lizard for the dryer instead.

That she enjoys time with family does not mean Faye hasn't experienced loss or sadness. Todd Chrisley had a sibling, Derrick Chrisley, who died as an infant (per The Greenville News), and his other brother Randy was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2014, Us Weekly reported. His condition is not public beyond the original diagnosis.

Growing up on a farm has its perks. For Nanny Faye, it comes with an innate passion for creating killer recipes. It so happens that Faye's daughter-in-law shares the same zeal for authentic meals, as seen on her old blog, The Chrisley Kitchen. On "What's Cooking with Julie Chrisley," the pair bonded over cooking, and sought entry for a shorty award.

In one Facebook episode, Julie recreated the famous light, fluffy biscuits and homemade gravy that Faye's grandmother once taught Faye to make, and Todd was wowed by the first bite. "I am in love with you again," he told his wife. Faye's secret? "You learn over time. The more you make, the better you get." At Thanksgiving, the unofficial cooking Super Bowl, the Chrisleys bring it all to the table: Faye puts her hunting hat on and joins forces with Julie to give a dinner experience worth remembering.

Faye has had a recipe for the bad times, too, and when she and Julie's dad didn't see eye to eye, the grandma had a special meal prepared. Todd helped her out by pouring some hot sauce into a pie filling mixture and asking his mother if any laxatives were on hand.

The dating life of Nanny Faye as a single widowed woman in her 70s made television gold on "Chrisley Knows Best." The show's 5th season kicked off on a high note, with Faye signing up on a dating app. Also etched in any diehard fan's memory is when Faye tried her hand at speed dating in Season 8. When a potential suitor asked her how she was, Faye answered, "I'm blessed! How are you?" She also wanted to know if the gentleman owned a yacht. But wait, there's more!

Faye was caught sexting in 2017, per ET. "Can't wait to lay eyes on your voluptuous body," one of the texts said. As Todd read the messages out loud, he couldn't hide the embarrassment on his face. For Faye, however, flirting via text wasn't where the buck stopped. She took it a notch higher by throwing passes at her granddaughter Savannah's ex-fiance, Nic Kerdiles. "Nanny's got it going on with this hunka hunka burning love @nickerdiles," a 2018 Instagram post by Faye reads in part.

Her escapades in the dating world wrote themselves like a song, so much so that Faye, accompanied by Todd, unintentionally wound up at a swinger's party in Season 9. "Mama, we gotta get out of here before we end up as dessert," Todd told his mother.

On a June 2022 episode of the Chrisley family podcast dubbed "Chrisley Confessions," Todd Chrisley revealed that Nanny Faye wasn't in good health. "What we are dealing with is that, you know, my mother was diagnosed with bladder cancer," he shared, "and so, she is in treatment and we have been dealing with that treatment weekly."

Though the family was trying their best to cope at the time of the revelation, Todd and Julie Chrisley both said it was a struggle. It was Faye's wish that her diagnosis remain within close circles, but the heightened publicity at the peak of Todd and Julie's court case challenged them to say something. "We've kept it private because she wanted it to be kept private," said Todd. 

The tragic news came in the fall 2021, five years after Faye's breast cancer scare was discussed on Season 4 of "Chrisley Knows Best." According to her granddaughter Savannah, via Instagram, Nanny Faye also broke two ribs in July 2021.

The Chrisley family patriarch, Gene Chrisley, died of cancer in 2012. He was 77 at the time of his death, per his obituary in The Greenville News. Gene served in the United States military, in the Korean War, and was honored with a bronze star.

Gene had set the bar really high, and when Faye was looking for someone to go out with on an episode dubbed "Date Night," he was the reference point. "I'm not ever gonna find nobody like him," Faye expressed, as The Sun noted. 

Years after his passing, Gene continues to be remembered by his grandchildren. "Miss you Bubba," Chase Chrisley posted on Instagram in March 2020. Savannah Chrisley paid a tribute to her grandfather on what would have been his 87th birthday. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA [heart emoji] I know you're up there fishing in heaven right about now... what I wouldn't do to just have 5 minutes with you...I love you and miss you like crazy," she wrote on Instagram.

In June 2022, Todd and Julie Chrisley, through their podcast, "Chrisley Confessions," admitted to having a publicized court case with details they wouldn't divulge. "So, I know all of you guys are wanting to know every detail that is going on in our lives," Todd said, only seconds into the episode. "And I have to ask that you respect that we're not allowed to talk about it at the present time."

According to a report by Insider, prosecution claimed that Nanny Faye committed perjury. "They used her to help further their crime and, frankly, victimized her by asking her to take the stand and lie," Assistant U.S. Attorney Annalise Peters was quoted to have said during the final hearing.

The publication further went into detail about the court proceedings, stating that Faye claimed to have no knowledge of the couple's "7C's Productions" bank account ownership being transferred to her name. The move, Insider divulged, was a coverup for Todd and Julie Chrisley's flopped game plan. "Honey, I had never been involved with nothing except be a signer," Faye had told Peters. "I have never owned it. I don't want it."