The College Admissions Scandal Was a Factor in Lori Loughlin & Mossimo Gianulli’s Split — Here’s Who ‘Blames’ Who
March 2019 was reportedly the beginning of the end of Lori Loughlin’s marriage to Mossimo Giannulli at the start of the college admissions scandal, but they were unaware of it at the time.
The former couple discovered that it was hard to reconnect after they each served time in prison — Loughlin for two months, and Giannulli for five months — according to Us Weekly sources.
“The school scandal was a turning point, and they never really connected or recovered their relationship after that,” an insider explained. “She felt that he got her involved. She didn’t fully blame him, but he spearheaded it. She never fully forgave him and never fully got over it, and they were never the same after.”
To refresh your memory on the When Calls the Heart star and fashion designer’s involvement in the scheme, dubbed “Varsity Blues” by investigators, they paid mastermind Rick Singer $500,000 as a side door way to get their daughters, Bella, 27, and Olivia Jade, 26, into the University of Southern California. Singer had them apply to be a part of the crew team even though they had never engaged in the sport.
Loughlin’s Full House castmates rallied around their friend, and longtime pal John Stamos took Giannulli to task for getting her involved in the scandal to begin with.
“I said, ‘Look, all the negativity or hard hardships that you’ve been through in your life is connected to this guy,’” Stamos said on the October 20, 2025, episode of the Good Guys podcast. “Whatever he did to her, it busted her up to the core. She put up with a lot over the years with this guy.”
Stamos didn’t hold back, describing Giannulli as a “terrible narcissist” whom he “will never talk to” again. Still, the Us Weekly source noted that the former duo is on good terms despite their split.
“They are friendly. They don’t hate each other,” the insider shared. “It’s more amicable than people think or would expect.”
Loughlin and Giannulli are currently separated, but divorce does appear to be in their future. For now, it’s about liquidating their shared assets, including a Hidden Hills estate and a mansion in Palm Desert, California.
A second source noted, “They grew apart and realized neither of them had much in common anymore as the girls got older and as the dust settled from the scandal.”
For Loughlin and Mossimo, it was the end of a chapter after 28 years together.
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