Lindsie Chrisley Didn’t Reach Out to Savannah Following Ex Nic Kerdiles’ Death Out of Respect for Her ‘Wishes’

Lindsie Chrisley has not reached out to sister Savannah Chrisley following the death of her ex-fiancé Nic Kerdiles.

The Southern Tea podcast host, 34, explained her decision not to do so after the Chrisley Knows Best star, 26, recently revealed on The Viall Files podcast that the sisters no longer speak.

“In short, I have not reached out to Savannah,” Lindsie updated listeners on Wednesday’s episode of her podcast. “I know that she is understandably very upset and grieving, and I in no way wanted to make the situation any worse than what it already was.”

Lindsie previously commented on criticism for not posting a public tribute to her younger sister’s late ex-fiancé on the Sept. 28 episode of PodcastOne’s Coffee Convos following Savannah’s confirmation on The Viall Files that the two do not communicate with each other.

“If you guys listened to Viall Files and things that were said over there and then my response to that on Coffee Convos, I chose to respect her wishes that she had expressed on that guest spot on Nick Viall’s podcast regarding us not having any type of involvement and each other’s personal lives, and just decided that it was best not only for her but for me not to reach out,” Lindsay explained.

She continued, “I have had communication with other family members who have been in communication with her and checked that way, and my heart goes out to her as it would to anybody that was in that situation.”

“I was estranged from my family when [Savannah’s] relationship started with Nic,” added Lindsie. “And by the time I was back in the picture, Nic was still around, but they had called off the engagement, and I believe, were boyfriend and girlfriend again for a short period of time and then went through the breakup. So I didn’t have a ton of knowledge or insight on that relationship. I can only speak to what I experienced, and it was very minimal interaction.”

However, Lindsie did note about Savannah and Kerdiles’ relationship, “I know that they had such a love and care for each other and still had, for my understanding, a deep love and care for each other so I can understand the entire grieving process.”

As for not posting a public tribute to Kerdiles, Lindsie echoed her previous sentiments from Coffee Convos. “It’s my understanding that the family does not want his memory to be overshadowed by the Chrisley family,” she said. “And so for that reason, that is why I’ve not said anything on social media whatsoever.”

“But just with the events that have taken place, that Viall Files podcast episode, me addressing it on Coffee Convos, I feel like I was in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation because if I had posted anything about it, there would have been one narrative that would have been spun if I did it,” she said, adding that “there’s another narrative being spun.”

“I don’t want to come across harsh or ever come across as insincere or to feel like, ‘Oh, well, I’m just being hostile or being petty.’ There’s none of that going on whatsoever,” Lindsie clarified. “It’s just a respect for what was said and I’m honoring that. I think that’s all you can do.”

“Obviously, it’s just a sad situation in general. My heart goes out to everybody,” she added.

Kerdiles died in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 23 at age 29. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department told WRKN News 2 at the time that the former NHL pro and Nashville realtor ran through a stop sign in a residential area north of Nashville while on his motorcycle at around 3:30 a.m.

According to authorities, Kerdiles hit the driver’s side of a BMW and while the other driver did not appear to be injured, Kerdiles died from his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Savannah shared multiple emotional tributes in honor of Kerdiles on Instagram, including a Boomerang of the two sharing a kiss.

“Heaven gained the most beautiful angel today … I miss and love you. I’ll forever save our last messages of ‘I love you,’” she wrote alongside photos of them at the beach, later posting a more extensive tribute.

Before then, Lindsie revealed in June that she blocked siblings Savannah, Chase Chrisley and Grayson Chrisley on social media following a recent fight, but said that “everything is fine” between them.
However, a source told PEOPLE that the siblings were “not fine,” which Savannah confirmed on The Viall Files. She also claimed that Lindsie and her brother Kyle Chrisley — both of whom their father, Todd Chrisley, had during a previous marriage — didn’t treat her mother Julie Chrisley as if she were their mom, even though Julie “always treated them as if they were hers.”

During her appearance on the Coffee Convos podcast, Lindsie said Savannah’s comments showed “a complete lack of empathy” given that her parents “were divorced [and] went through toxic co-parenting and [hated] each other.”