Before the designer handbags, the massive Nashville mansions, and the high-stakes federal legal battles that dominated headlines in recent years, Julie Chrisley was just a girl from South Carolina. Most people know her as the polished matriarch of the Chrisley Knows Best empire, the calm foil to Todd’s frantic, micromanaging energy. But the family tree isn’t quite as straightforward as those carefully edited reality TV episodes made it seem.
There is a name that almost never comes up on camera: Kenneth Wayne Childress.
👉 See also: Lara Trump Height Weight: What Most People Get Wrong
While Todd Chrisley’s first marriage to Teresa Terry has been picked apart by tabloids for years, Julie’s own history was kept much quieter. Honestly, for a long time, fans just assumed Julie and Todd were each other’s first and only. That’s not the case. Julie’s past includes a teenage marriage that ended long before she became a household name.
The Man Behind the Mystery: Kenneth Wayne Childress
Julie Chrisley (then Julie Hughes) married her first husband, Kenneth Wayne Childress, back in 1991. She was only 18 years old at the time—basically just out of high school. Kenneth was a bit older, around 24, and worked as a pipefitter and in construction.
They lived a life that was a world away from the "Chrisley" brand. No cameras. No glam squads. Just a young couple in Oconee County, South Carolina.
It’s a bit jarring to think about, isn’t it? The woman we see on TV, who seemingly moved through life with the confidence of a country club veteran, started out in a very traditional, blue-collar South Carolina marriage. Records show they tied the knot on March 15, 1991. But as most teenage marriages go, it didn't last forever.
Why the Marriage Ended
We don’t have a specific "divorce date" etched in public records like we do for Todd and Teresa, but we do know the timing was tight. By 1996, Julie was already marrying Todd Chrisley.
There’s been plenty of gossip about how that transition happened. Some of Julie’s former in-laws have claimed in past interviews with outlets like Radar Online that the split wasn't exactly a clean break. There were rumors—though never officially confirmed by Julie herself—that Kenneth found a note with Todd's phone number on it while he and Julie were still together.
Whether it was an overlap or just a very fast rebound, the shift from Childress to Chrisley happened quickly.
Debunking the Biggest Myths About Julie's Past
If you spend five minutes on some of the more "interesting" corners of the internet, you’ll find wild theories. One of the most persistent—and factually incorrect—rumors is that Julie is the biological mother of Lindsie and Kyle Chrisley.
Let's clear that up right now: Julie Chrisley did not have children with her first husband.
She also isn't the biological mother of Lindsie or Kyle. Those are Todd’s children from his first marriage to Teresa Terry. Julie eventually adopted them and has raised them as her own, which is probably why the confusion exists.
Another weird piece of misinformation floating around some low-quality blogs (like that bizarre Formtitan "article" from 2025) claims Julie was married to a man named "Steve Dempsey." That is flat-out wrong. There is no record of a Steve Dempsey in her life. It's a classic example of AI or poor reporting hallucinating names that don't exist in reality.
📖 Related: Kate Hudson Parents: Why We All Get the Kurt Russell and Bill Hudson Story Wrong
The Tragic End for Kenneth Childress
While Julie was climbing the ranks of reality TV fame, Kenneth Childress stayed in South Carolina. He never sought the spotlight. He never did the "tell-all" interview circuit.
Sadly, Kenneth passed away on November 27, 2012. He was only 46.
According to his obituary from the Davenport Funeral Home, he died following complications from a heart surgery. He never remarried and didn't have any children of his own. It’s a bit of a somber footnote to the glitzy Chrisley narrative. While Julie was filming Season 1 of Chrisley Knows Best, which premiered in early 2014, her first husband had already passed away.
Why This Matters in 2026
You might wonder why anyone still cares about a marriage that happened over thirty years ago.
Well, in 2026, the Chrisley story has taken some massive turns. After years of legal drama, prison sentences, and the eventual pardons in 2025, fans are looking at the family with fresh eyes. Understanding Julie’s background—her humble beginnings and her first marriage—humanizes her.
👉 See also: Josh Lucas NY Post Headlines: What Really Happened with the Sweet Home Alabama Star
It shows that the "perfect" family image presented on the USA Network was a carefully constructed brand.
Julie wasn't born into the Chrisley wealth. She grew up in a double-wide trailer in South Carolina, married a construction worker, and lived a very normal, perhaps even struggling, life before the cameras started rolling.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Researchers
If you're trying to piece together the real history of the Chrisley family, here is how you should approach the information:
- Check the courthouse, not the blogs: The only reason we even know about Kenneth Childress is because of marriage licenses filed at the Oconee County Courthouse. If a website mentions "Steve Dempsey," you can safely ignore the rest of their content.
- Understand the "Overlap" Allegations: When looking at the timeline of 1995-1996, keep in mind that Todd and Julie’s relationship started while Todd was still technically married to Teresa Terry (they divorced in early 1996). The claims that Julie was also still married to Kenneth at the start of the affair come from Kenneth's sister, Kellie Adair.
- Distinguish Biology from Adoption: Remember that Chase, Savannah, and Grayson are Julie's biological children. Lindsie and Kyle are not. This is the root of 90% of the confusion regarding Julie's "first" family.
The story of Julie Chrisley first husband isn't a scandalous secret so much as it is a reminder that everyone has a "Chapter 1" that looks nothing like the rest of the book. Julie moved on, built an empire, and survived a federal prison stint. But before all of that, she was just Mrs. Childress.