Lori Loughlin Talks Forgiveness After College Admissions Scandal: ‘We All Make Mistakes’

Isabella Giannulli, Lori Loughlin, and Olivia Giannulli attend the Teen Choice Awards 2017 at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2017. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Actress Lori Loughlin has turned a new page following her involvement in the 2019 college admissions scandal.

In an exclusive interview with First for Women, the “Full House” star reflected on the power of perseverance in the face of hardships.

“Every day we’re met with different obstacles, but it’s all in how you approach things. For me, it’s just persevering and as an actress, I hear ‘no’ a lot, so I just have to be myself and persevere and try not to let in negativity,” the 59-year-old told the publication.

Ms. Loughlin noted that her best advice for overcoming difficult challenges is quite simple: “Just keep moving forward,” she explained.

“Everyone has good times and bad times. That’s life,” she added. “I think you just have to pick yourself up. Nobody said life was going to be a breeze. There’s beauty in life, but there’s also hardship in life.”

College Admissions Scandal

Higher education was turned on its head in 2019 after more than 50 people—including parents, athletic coaches, and exam administrators—were charged in what has become the largest college admissions bribery scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The FBI investigation, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” uncovered allegations dating back to 2011 that a slew of wealthy parents paid bribes to William “Rick” Singer—founder of the Edge College & Career Network LLC, a for-profit college counseling and preparation company, and chief executive officer of the non-profit corporation Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF)—to get their children into elite colleges across the country.

“Parents paid Singer approximately $25 million to bribe coaches and university administrators to designate their children as purported athletic recruits, thereby facilitating the children’s admission to those universities,” per a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.

“Singer allegedly described the scheme to his customers as a ’side door,' in which the parents paid Singer under the guise of charitable donations to KWF. In turn, Singer funneled those payments to programs controlled by the athletic coaches, who then designated the children as recruited athletes—regardless of their athletic experience and abilities. Singer also made bribe payments to most of the coaches personally,” the statement continued.

Ms. Loughlin and her husband, 60-year-old fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted in 2019 and accused of paying $500,000 to fraudulently secure their two daughters’ admission to the University of Southern California, per a separate press release. After fighting the charges for over a year, Ms. Loughlin and Mr. Giannulli pleaded guilty in May 2020 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, with the latter also pleading guilty to one count of honest services wire and mail fraud.

Ms. Loughlin was sentenced to two months in federal prison, which she served from October to December 2020, in addition to two years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. The actress was also ordered to pay a $150,000 fine. Mr. Giannulli was sentenced to five months behind bars, two years of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, and a $250,000 fine.

In a statement read during her sentencing, Ms. Loughlin said she “made an awful decision,” referencing her involvement in the scheme, per ABC News.

“I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process. In doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. I thought I was acting out of love for my children, but in reality, it only undermined and diminished my daughters’ abilities and accomplishments,” she shared.

“More broadly, and more importantly, I now understand that my decision helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society generally, and the higher education system more specifically,” the actress continued. “That realization weighs heavily on me.”

‘No One Is Perfect’

Although Ms. Loughlin did not touch upon her involvement in the college admissions scheme with First for Women, she did give the publication insight into how she views herself today.

“I’m kind and I’m strong. And open—open to life, open to experiences. And I’m grateful,” she said. “So I’d say I’m strong, grateful, open and kind.”

With the scandal now behind her, the “When Calls the Heart” actress said she is still a proponent of forgiveness, namely because she believes everyone is capable of making mistakes.

“Actually, I try to be a forgiving person. I’m not one to hold onto stuff. Stuff happens to everyone. We’ve all been in positions to ask for forgiveness but to ask for it, you have to learn and know how to give forgiveness, too,” she shared.

“My family wasn’t one to hold grudges. I didn’t grow up in a household where if you made a mistake, you weren’t forgiven. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes,” Ms. Loughlin added. “So I was always told to let stuff go.

“And I think for your own health, you have to let things go because you can’t hang on to negativity,” she continued. “Life’s too short.”