Not what it looks like. Robby Hayes claims he had a “serious” relationship with Lindsie Chrisley amid rumors that the Chrisley Knows Best star made a sex tape with him and fellow Bachelorette alum Josh Murray.
The season 5 Bachelor in Paradise contestant, 30, told Us Weekly exclusively that his romance with the reality star, 29, was beyond a casual hookup.
“It was more serious than a one time thing, but we never became official,” he told Us at OK! magazine’s New York Fashion Week Party on Tuesday, September 10. “We went through the dating and courting stages, and we were flirting. I took her out; I took her to baseball games, events that we were both invited to from a public personality aspect.”
The ABC personality explained that he and Chrisley never reached the boyfriend-girlfriend stage because of her life in Georgia with her estranged husband, Will Campbell, and their 10-year-old son, Jackson.
“We never got to that committal stage, and part of that was she’s got her life out there with her kid and her ex-husband,” he said. “I enjoyed spending time with her but we never got to that. … We haven’t been sexually active with each other in two years, but back then we had a fling.”
In August, the “Coffee Convos with Kail Lowry & Lindsie Chrisley” podcast host’s father, Todd Chrisley, claimed that his daughter had an affair with Hayes and Murray, 35. The accusation came after Lindsie alleged in a police report filed on July 16 that her father and stepbrother Chase Chrisley “were going to release [a] sex tape involving her.”
“It’s heartbreaking and shameful that these kinds of accusations have to be aired in public. We have tried to keep Lindsie’s extramarital relationships with Robby Hayes and Josh Murray private for her sake since August of 2016,” Todd said in a statement on August 15. “Sadly, for reasons we can only guess at, she ran to the sheriff’s office to accuse her brother of buying a sex tape of her and Robby, which was a complete lie, and now she’s telling more lies about me.”
He added, “Although our hearts are broken, Lindsie is our daughter and we will always love her.”
In her police report, Lindsie stated “there is an ongoing issue with her family threatening and harassing her.” She claimed that her father and stepbrother, 23, “wanted her to lie about an incident” and that they would extort her with the alleged sex tape if she did not. Todd’s accusation came two days after and his wife, Julie Christley, were indicted for tax evasion in August. The couple pled not guilty.
Hayes told Us on Tuesday that he feels “sorry” for Lindsie amid the drama that’s happening with her family. He also revealed that the two are still in contact and have even bonded over the scandal.
“I feel sorry for Lindsie first and foremost,” he said. “I’m an innocent bystander catching flak from what should be a personal, internal family affair, but what happens to me is nothing compared to what’s happening to Lindsie right now.”
He continued, “She’s ostracized from her whole family, a family that’s going through something that no family should have to go through. Looking at her, someone who’s a friend, it’s difficult. We talk every day. If anything, this thing has brought us closer together.”
As for Murray, the season 10 Bachelorette contestant responded to Todd’s claims in a statement in August.
“I know Todd and his family are going through some tough times right now and I pray everything works out in their favor,” he said, explaining that he and Lindsie “have been friends for years.”
He continued, “They should probably focus on how not to be imprisoned for 30 years rather than spreading gossip to try and hurt their daughter. I truly believe they are good people and I wish them the best in however they choose to go about their actions.”
With reporting by Nicki Gostin
