Julie Chrisley Said She Was 'Living in Fear' Ahead of Her and Husband Todd's Sentencing

Julie Chrisley opened up about her "struggle" with "fear" before she and Todd Chrisley were sentenced.

The Chrisley Knows Best stars were sentenced earlier this week in their bank fraud and tax evasion case, with Todd receiving 12 years in prison and 16 months probation while Julie received seven years in prison, plus 16 months probation.

In an episode of their Chrisley Confessions podcast that was taped before their sentencing and aired Wednesday, Julie, 49, told her husband, 53, "Everyone knows that we're living through a nightmare."

She continued, "I have been focused on not living in fear."

After sharing an acronym she was told about fear — "false evidence appearing real" — Julie said, "It is something that I struggle so hard with because I do feel like I live in fear. I know in my heart that I am a Christian, I believe God, I believe that God can work miracles, I believe that He will take care of my family, that if I died today I know where I'm going. But I still have this fear."

Despite her fear, Julie said she was "grateful" that she and Todd were still going strong amid their legal woes.

"I'm grateful that our relationship has grown instead of falling apart," she said. "When people go through traumatic events, a lot of times they don't make it. A lot of times the relationship falls apart because everything is stressful. There's way added pressures, and people don't make it."

The Chrisleys' former accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also sentenced to 36 months in prison on Monday, per Insider. Tarantino — who was convicted in June for his involvement in the couple's fraud scheme — is set to report to prison on May 1, 2023, after undergoing hip surgery, per the outlet.

After being sentenced, the reality stars' lawyer Alex Little of Burr & Forman LLP, said the family was "optimistic" for the future as they planned to appeal the convictions.

"Yesterday was a difficult day for the Chrisley family. But Todd and Julie are people of faith, and that faith gives them strength as they appeal their convictions," Little said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "Their trial was marred by serious and repeated errors, including the government lying to jurors about what taxes the couple paid. Based on these issues, we are optimistic about the road ahead."

In June, a federal jury found Todd and Julie guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Julie was also convicted of wire fraud. (The pair have denied all the charges.)

RELATED VIDEO: Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley Will Serve Majority of Prison Sentences in 'Camp Environment': Expert

Tarantino was also found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States and willfully filing false tax returns, according to Insider.

During their three-week trial, Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters claimed that Todd and Julie submitted false documents exaggerating their wealth to banks to borrow over $30 million that they "burned" on their affluent lifestyle while additionally hiding money from the IRS.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In September, Todd revealed on his Chrisley Confessions podcast that he believed that the truth would eventually prevail.

"I know that the truth will eventually rise to the top and I know that we will have survived the lies because God has put that in my spirit," he said at the time. "I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I know and I have a peace that God is working overtime. Satan will never outwork God."