Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli’s marriage reportedly couldn’t bounce back from the infamous college admissions scandal, which made headlines six years before their separation.
“The school scandal was a turning point, and they never really connected or recovered their relationship after that,” a source told Us Weekly Thursday, adding that the actress felt the fashion designer “got her involved” in the situation.
“She didn’t fully blame him, but he spearheaded it,” the source said, noting that Loughlin “never fully forgave him and never fully got over it.”
Per the source, the two “were never the same after” what came to be known as Operation Varsity Blues, which impacted their marriage negatively.
In March 2019, Loughlin and Giannulli were among dozens of parents who were charged with fraud for paying bribes to get their children into top universities in a nationwide college admissions scam.
The following May, the pair pleaded guilty to paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters, Bella Giannulli, now 27, and Olivia Jade Giannulli, now 26, into the University of Southern California as rowing recruits.
The “Full House” star subsequently served two months in prison, while the Mossimo clothing label founder served five.
A second source told Us Weekly that the estranged couple “drifted apart in the last few years” as “the girls got older” and “the dust settled from the scandal.”
According to the source, they “grew apart and realized neither of them had much in common anymore.”
However, that source stressed that Loughlin and Mossimo had “a lot of ups and downs” over the years and “both made mistakes.”
As Page Six previously reported, Loughlin pulled the plug on their almost-28-year marriage after discovering “incriminating” communications on Mossimo’s phone.
“Truly, the tipping point came when Lori found a bunch of text messages,” a pal of hers told us in October 2025, two weeks after news of their separation broke.
“Mossimo had used Lori for years,” the pal continued. “She was hoping maybe he would change when he got out of prison, but he got worse.”
A separate family friend told us that Loughlin once visited a Los Angeles strip club that Mossimo allegedly frequented to “[sit] down with the strippers” and “and find out what he was doing.”
People elaborated at the time that Loughlin felt “betrayed” by Mossimo, but according to Us Weekly, tensions have since calmed.
“They are friendly. They don’t hate each other,” one of the outlet’s sources said Thursday, revealing that Loughlin even invited Mossimo over for a family Christmas celebration. “It’s more amicable than people think or would expect.”
Though the duo is reportedly in “no rush” to file paperwork, divorce “looks like it’s in the future.”
Reps for the stars did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
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