Todd Chrisley Claims Daughter Savannah’s Engagement Ended for Putting ‘All Your Faith in That Blue Checkmark’

Savannah Chrisley and Nic Kerdiles ended their engagement in September 2020 — and now, her father Todd Chrisley is sharing his theory on why the relationship didn’t work out

Todd Chrisley has a theory as to why daughter Savannah Chrisley’s relationship with ex-fiancé Nic Kerdiles didn’t work out.

While co-hosting the Chrisley Confessions podcast on Wednesday, Todd spoke about his love for Kerdiles — despite the fact that the former athlete is no longer dating Savannah.

“We love Nic, and I pray for him every day and I will always love him,” Todd, 53, began. “Nic will always mean the world to my family, but they have gone their separate ways. And it appears for now that that’s where they’re going to stay.”

Recalling a recent conversation he had with Savannah over the split, Todd shared: “I said, ‘But let’s make sure that you collect your ownership in how this ended this way.'”

“I said, ‘Y’all met on social media. You had a blue checkmark, he had a blue checkmark. He was an athlete, you’re on television,'” the Chrisley Knows Best star recounted. “‘Y’all put all your faith in that blue check mark because that meant both of you were verified, which meant there was no falsity going on. There was no one impersonating you. This was a verified account.'”

“And I said, ‘Had you put as much faith in the word [of the Bible] and in God as you did that blue checkmark,’ I said, ‘Things may have ended differently,'” he continued.

Since Kerdiles is famous, Todd said he thought Savannah would believe he would be on “her level” and understand what she deals with as a television personality. Upon asking her if his theory was “correct,” the Chrisley family patriarch recalled his daughter allegedly agreeing with him at the time.

“I said, ‘When y’all two verified that y’all were legitimate on social media, where was the verification that you were both children of God and that you were supposed to be together? Where’s that verification?'” he continued. “I said, ‘You don’t have it.’ So what starts uneven will end uneven. What starts out as cracked will end up shattered. And I said, ‘If it starts out messy, it’ll end with messy.'”

Savannah, 25, and Kerdiles, 28, announced their split in September 2020. The breakup news came nearly two years after the former ice hockey player popped the question in April 2019 after over a year of dating.

“Nic and I have decided to call it quits,” Savannah previously wrote on Instagram at the time. “There’s no hatred between the two of us…and in all honesty…that makes saying goodbye even harder. We have nothing but love, respect, and admiration for one another but it’s time for us to move forward individually.”

Speaking to PEOPLE in November 2020, Chrisley opened up about her “unique” relationship with Kerdiles and what she had learned since their breakup.

“Our situation is very unique,” she said. “For us, it was a very adult relationship and you need to navigate it that way. Even when it ends. He was a part of my family and he still is. It’s just we’re both on different pages right now and we weren’t connecting. I don’t ever believe that you should have to change who you are, what you want out of life to be with someone. And that goes for him as well.”

“Neither of us were capable of giving the other what they needed at the time. And that’s okay,” she continued. “You just have to realize that and we chose to take that step back. And no decision in life is ever perfect. If we end up back together, that was what was meant to be. And if we don’t, then there’s going to be other people that come into our lives.”

Before officially pumping the brakes on their love for good, Savannah told E! News in August 2021 that the two were attempting to date each other. “Nic is still in my life. We’re still trying to figure things out,” she said.

“We just decided to keep things off of social media, keep things a little more private, because when the world gets involved, I kind of put my life out there for everyone to see and have an opinion about, and I’ve kind of come to a place in life to where I’ve decided to keep my relationships to myself because I feel like I deserve a little bit of privacy when it comes to that,” she continued. “We’re kind of just taking it day by day.”

Currently, Savannah’s parents Todd and Julie Chrisley are in the middle of an intense legal battle. In June, a federal jury found them guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud. Julie, 49, was also convicted of wire fraud.

The longtime couple — who have denied all allegations — filed a joint motion in August for a new trial. In the meantime, their sentencing was pushed back from Oct. 6 to Nov. 21 after their lawyer claimed a witness lied on the stand.