![EXCLUSIVE: Savannah Chrisley has secretly been dating college football star Robert Shiver for WEEKS – having met just after his ex-wife was accused of ‘trying to kill him in murder for hire plot’ – but kept romance hidden over fears ‘it would fail’ EXCLUSIVE: Savannah Chrisley has secretly been dating college football star Robert Shiver for WEEKS – having met just after his ex-wife was accused of ‘trying to kill him in murder for hire plot’ – but kept romance hidden over fears ‘it would fail’](https://trangangolf.storage.googleapis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23150242/412962084_779100577563268_3371857793184435682_n.jpg)
Savannah Chrisley has been dating former college football player Robert Shiver for several weeks and is telling family and friends that she believes the romance is the real deal because he is not after her fame and wealth – but rather her heart.
The Chrisley Knows Best star, 26, recently confirmed she was in a ‘very new’ relationship, just days after she denied knowing Robert, 38, when they were pictured together at Los Angeles International airport – and where she claimed that he was just a guy she got talking to on her flight.
But while Savannah vehemently denied even knowing Robert at the time, a source close to the Chrisley family has now revealed that this could not be further from the truth, saying that the pair have actually been seeing each other for several weeks now – starting their romance not long after his ex-wife Lindsay was arrested for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill him.
As for why Savannah chose to keep the relationship under wraps, the source insisted it was not about her beau’s personal troubles, but rather her own fears that the romance would end up ‘failing’ as her past relationships have.
‘Savannah has been seeing Robert for a [while] and didn’t want to say anything because she was not sure it was going to work,’ they said. ‘She was afraid it would turn out like her failed relationships.
‘But there is one main reason her past relationships didn’t work – she only dated men who were with her for her fame, not for her. Not having a number one show has humbled her and not having Todd to blow smoke up her a** has made her drop down to reality.’
However the source claimed that Savannah has been ‘humbled’ now that she no longer has a number one show and has ‘changed’ since her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley were jailed.
‘For once, she is herself and is showing a man who she is without the money and fame. In return, she is with someone who is with her for her. She is in love with being in love,’ the source added.
According to the source, Savannah used fame ‘as a tool to manipulate [men] and to be adorned’ adding: ‘But things are different now and she is different. She no longer has this fame anymore and she isn’t raking in millions like she used to – plus she is raising two kids. For once, she is herself and is showing Robert who she really is.’
Her secrecy about her romance with Robert – who now works as the executive vice president for Senior Life Insurance – is a drastic departure from how she handled previous high-profile relationships.
She dated NBA star ex Luke Kennard and was engaged to ice hockey star, Nic Kerdiles for two years until 2020, and was no stranger to flaunting them daily on social media.
‘Everyone hopes this works out for her,’ the source continued. ‘She certainly has changed in the past several months since they went to prison.’
Savannah and Robert started dating after she slid into his DM’s on Instagram. Confirming their relationship on Nick Viall’s podcast last week, she said: ‘This guy that I’m talking to, his wife just tried to kill him. It’s fine.’
Robert, the son of former Flowers Foods CEO Allen Shriver, married Lindsay in 2010 and they share three sons – Grayson, 11, Landon, 10 and Rhett, 4.
The couple were going through divorce proceedings and a nasty custody battle when a murder-for-hire plot was uncovered.
Lindsay had reportedly been hooking up with Bahamian Terrance Bethel for quite some time, and when Robert learned of the affair, he started divorce proceedings and cut her off from their home and his family’s private jet.
She also filed a counter-claim that Robert was abusive during their marriage, when the plot was uncovered.
Police were investigating a break-in at Grabbers, a popular watering hole in Great Guana Cay where Terrance had worked.
Police asked employees to turn over their phones to investigate the break-in and later discovered messages between Lindsay, Terrance and prospective hitman Faron Newbold, discussing having Robert killed.
She reportedly tearfully confessed to sending photos of Robert to Newbold and instructing him to kill her husband.
At the time, Robert was visiting his family’s property in nearby Baker’s Bay before his wife was arrested.
A Superior Court judge set Lindsay’s bail at $100,000, which was paid and she was released, and while there were reports that Robert paid the bail, they have since been debunked.
Lindsay is expected to remain in the Bahamas while the case is ongoing, and will be forced to surrender her passport until the indictment in October.
Robert is currently pursuing sole custody of his three children.
Savannah first entered the public eye on reality TV series Chrisley Knows Best, as the oldest daughter of Todd and Julie.
Her parents were indicted by the Georgia Department of Revenue in August 2019 on multiple tax evasion and bank fraud charges.
While they settled the Georgia case, they still faced federal tax evasion charges, with the couple both found guilty. Todd was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and Julie to seven years.
After their incarceration, Savannah became the primary caregiver for her 16-year-old brother Grayson and 10-year-old niece Chloe, with Savannah admitting it has left her questioning if she wants kids herself.
‘I’m in that anger part of grief right now. I’m just angry at everything. And also, after taking on the kids. I’m like, “Okay. Do I actually want kids? Do I?” You know, seeing how much this whole thing has affected us?’ she admitted.
Still, she clarified that she isn’t angry about having to care for her brother and niece after her parents were locked up.
‘I don’t want anyone to take what I said out of context at all. I frickin love these two kids more than life itself,’ she said.
‘They are my everything. We have so much fun together. I try to have as much fun as possible.’
She will next be seen on the Fox reality series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which debuts on September 25.