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Lori Loughlin is focusing on her future.
The former Full House star is hard at work repairing her image after being jailed for two months for fraud for her part in the 2019 US college admissions scandal that torpedoed her career.
Lori was released from prison in December after serving a two-month sentence for her and husband Mossimo Giannulli’s involvement in bribery schemes to get their children into the University of Southern California.
“She’s put the past behind her,” says an insider of the actress’s outlook. “She’s served her time in jail and completed her probation, community service and paid all of her court fines.”
Following her release, the source says Lori is adopting a positive approach to her life as she “continues to work with Project Angel Food” after her required 100 community service hours were complete.
She has also “privately arranged to put two students through four years of college” and has paid their tuition and expenses that the insider says totals over $500 000. The move was not a part of her plea deal.
Insiders say the 57-year-old is looking towards her future in the hopes that she “be allowed to move on".
“She feels like there is this stigma attached to her by people who don’t want her to have any success,” the source adds.
But Lori is as determined as ever.
She’s also staging her return to TV after a year-and-a-half hiatus for the two-part season-two premiere of When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas.
The actress will reprise the role of Abigail Stanton, her When Calls the Heart character from the Hallmark Channel series on this spinoff, which airs on the newly launched GAC Family channel.
The television veteran had been a long time regular for the Hallmark Channel’s programming, starring in a number of original romantic holiday movies, including Homegrown Christmas (2018), Every Christmas Has a Story (2016) and Northpole: Open for Christmas (2015).
Her last onscreen role was in When Calls the Heart‘s sixth season. The actress was let go due to her involvement in the college admissions scandal, with her character sent off to care for a sick family member.
Rumours of her return to the series began last week after industry insiders reported that she had been permitted to fly to Canada for about a week in late September or early October. The request reportedly stated that Lori, still currently under probation, was “being offered a filming production project” that would require her travels.
Her daughters Olivia Jade (22) and Bella (23) – whose admissions to the University of Southern California as purported athletic recruits were part of the case – are also attempting to move forward, with Olivia competing on the current season of US reality TV show, Dancing With the Stars.
"They are hopeful about the future and being able to get their lives back on track," a source close to the family says. "They are more than ready to move on and put this behind them."
After a performance earlier this month, Olivia Jade opened up about having her mom in her corner.
“Literally right after we got off the stage, I called her! She’s the biggest support ever. She’s really proud of me and I love her so much,” the social media influencer.
“She’s, like, my hero. So it’s really nice to know she’s watching, and she’s really proud. … Mama bear! She’s excited.”
Sources: usmagazine.com, nbcnews.com, latimes.com, deadline.com, eonline.com, vanityfair.com
