Before they made headlines for their alleged involvement in a nationwide college admissions scam, Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, kept their private life largely out of the spotlight.
After more than 20 years of marriage, the Full House alum and the fashion designer came under fire for their part in the scandal that saw dozens, including actress Felicity Huffman, named and charged after they supposedly bribed prestigious universities to get their children accepted.
The couple allegedly “agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC,” according to court documents obtained by ABC News in March 2019. Loughlin and Giannulli’s two daughters, Bella and Olivia Jade, attended the school, but Us Weekly confirmed in October 2019 that they were no longer enrolled.
The bribe money was donated to William Rick Singer’s fake charity, and CNN reported that Giannulli had sent a friendly email to the man behind the scam about their eldest daughter’s excitement to be admitted into the University of Southern California.
“I wanted to thank you again for your great work with [our daughter], she is very excited and both Lori and I are very appreciative of your efforts and end result!” an alleged email from Giannulli to Singer read.
Hours after news broke of the scam, Giannulli was arrested, and later let go on a $1 million bond. The When Calls the Heart star, for her part, was “out of the country” and was taken into custody the following day. She too had bail set at $1 million. They pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.
Scroll down to take a look back at Loughlin and Giannulli’s relationship timeline.
Loughlin and Giannulli eloped just two days before Thanksgiving. “We had Moss' best friend and a minister meet us, and we got married at sunrise and then we went to Thanksgiving dinner and we told everybody,” the Fuller House star told Entertainment Tonight in February 2018. She added: "We had talked about doing a wedding and we just thought, 'Let's get up and let's go do it.'” Loughlin was previously married to Michael Burns from 1989 to 1996.
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On the 16th day of the month, Loughlin and Giannulli welcomed their first child together, daughter Bella. “I would say that I am loving but that I am firm,” the proud mom told Us Weekly in 2016. “I would say that … I am available, and they have access to me. I am involved, but I am not hovering. I’m there to guide. I think I’m funny, but they don’t. But I still make that joke. They kind of roll their eyes at me, but I am funny. I’m funny! And they’re like, ‘No, you’re not.’ But anyways, we have fun. We have a good time together.”
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Almost exactly one year after the birth of Bella, Loughlin and Giannulli added to their family. Daughter Olivia Jade was born on September 28. “Listen, I am not their friend,” the sitcom star explained to Us in 2016 of her parenting style. “I am here. I am their mother. I’m here to guide them, and I think that is first and foremost. … Look, I try to instill good values and be a good person, and for the most part, I have to say that my girls, they are good people. They are good people. They have good hearts.”
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Loughlin joked about her strong relationship with Giannulli while speaking with Entertainment Tonight. She revealed that for 20 years, the pair had been celebrating their anniversary two days early, and it wasn’t until a friend corrected her that they realized it. "He's my guy, he's my person," the Summerland alum gushed at the time. "It's communicating, it's listening, it's picking and choosing your battles. It's being flexible, it's all of that."
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Loughlin and Giannulli were both arrested for their alleged involvement in the college scandal in which they falsified their daughters' participation on USC's crew team in a bribe to get her accepted to the school.
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The twosome pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges after they rejected a plea deal in April 2019.
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The duo celebrated Loughlin’s 55th birthday at church in Beverly Hills in July 2019. A source told Us at the time that the family was “showing a united front on social media,” but they are “still very strained and there’s a lot of deep-rooted hurt.”
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Loughlin and Giannulli returned to court in Boston in August 2019 to attend a hearing regarding the government’s concerns of their lawyers, who previously represented USC in unrelated cases.
Despite the judge’s warnings over the conflict of interest, the duo opted to keep their shared legal team from the firm of Lathan & Watkins.
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Insiders told Us exclusively in September 2019 that the pair were having marital issues amid the legal scandal.
“Their daughter Bella is extremely concerned they’re going to get divorced,” one source said, noting that the Loughlin and Giannulli argued over whether they should take a private jet to their recent court acceptance.
“The couple was advised by their lawyers not to,” the source said. “Mossimo insisted, saying it would be a ‘zoo’ if they flew commercial.”
A second source told Us that the actress’ friends “think she should leave him, but Lori refuses and says the ordeal has made them stronger.”
An insider told Us exclusively that the twosome are “reacting and handling the scandal completely differently,” especially when visiting Bel Air Country Club in California.
“Moss is in good spirits and continues to socialize as if nothing’s wrong — either he’s in complete denial or it’s a front that he’s mastered so nobody judges him,” the insider explained. “Lori has started wearing large hats and scarves to avoid people noticing her. She doesn’t wait around to see anyone, and when she plays golf, she tees off from the fourth hole to avoid being spotted by members inside the clubhouse.”
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Loughlin and Giannulli were indicted on additional charges in October 2019. According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney filed bribery charges against the twosome. The news broke the day after Us confirmed that Bella and Olivia are no longer enrolled at USC.
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Us confirmed on November 1, 2019, that Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded not guilty to the bribery charges.
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Less than a month after a judge refused to dismiss the charges against Loughlin, Giannulli and several other parents connected to the case in May 2020, the couple agreed to a plea deal.
Loughlin, for her part, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Her plea deal includes two months in prison, a $150,000 fine, two years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. Giannulli, meanwhile, is expected to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud. The fashion designer’s agreed to five months in prison, a $250,000 fine, two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service.
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In August 2020, Giannulli was ordered to serve five months in prison, two years of supervised release, pay a $250,000 fine and complete 250 hours of community service for his involvement in the college admissions scandal.
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The former When Calls the Heart actress was sentenced to two months in prison, two years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine for her part in the college admissions scandal during a virtual sentencing.
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Loughlin began her two-month sentence the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on October 30, 2020.
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