Chase Chrisley ‘Knew’ Mom Julie Would Return to Blonde Hair Post-Prison (Exclusive)

Who is Julie Chrisley without her signature blonde?

During her time in prison, the reality television star, 52, became unrecognizable after her hair went back to its natural brunette hair color, parts of which turned gray.

While the Chrisley Knows Best star claimed she was never going platinum again when she returned home, her son Chase Chrisley, 29, always “knew” that her break from blonde wouldn’t go on forever.

“I knew she wasn’t going to keep it the same,” Chase tells PEOPLE exclusively while discussing his new alcohol-free sparkling water Gold Drop, out July 1, then revealing the joke his dad, Todd Chrisley, who also went to prison, made about Julie’s natural hair. “He said, ‘This would be the first time in my life I’ve ever been with a brunette.’”

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On May 29, Chase first told Entertainment Tonight that he was encouraging his “beautiful” mom to bleach her hair. “I’m like, ‘Mama, we gotta go back platinum blonde.’” Confirmation of her refreshed look post-prison was later confirmed with photos of her posing with fans.

Julie and Todd, 56, were released from separate prisons on May 28 after receiving a full pardon from President Donald Trump. The pair were indicted on 12 counts of bank and wired fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy in 2019 and went to prison in January 2023.

Todd, 56, was released from the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida, with his daughter Savannah Chrisley on hand to pick him up, while Julie was retrieved by their son Grayson Chrisley at Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

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In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Chase, who celebrated his birthday days after his parents’ release, said: “I am grateful to God and extremely grateful to President Trump and his entire administration. I’m beyond thankful to finally have my parents back home and my family together again!”

In their first public appearance since then — a joint interview for FOX News Channel’s My View with Lara Trump with Savannah, 27, and Grayson, 19 — Julie and Todd opened up about their initial reactions to hearing that they would be able to get back to life as it was.

“It was the craziest thing, and everybody was just looking at me, because unfortunately, most of the news that you get in prison is bad news,” said Julie. “So they’re like, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m like, ‘I am. I’m getting out of here. I’m getting out of here!’”

Todd added: “This guy stops me and goes, ‘Man, I think you just got pardoned.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, okay.’ And I just kept on walking. So when I went into my dorm, one of the guys, the COs, he came by and he goes, ‘Are you good?’ And I said, ‘As good as I can be.’ And he said, ‘Todd, you just got pardoned. They sent me down here to make sure you’re okay.’”

“I said, ‘Well, they don’t need to be worrying about me now. Hell, if I’m pardoned, I’m great,’” he joked, going on to thank God, who he believes “touched President Trump’s heart.”

The Chrisleys will be returning to screens with a new docuseries for Lifetime, as confirmed by PEOPLE in May.