Lori Loughlin has filed for divorce from Mossimo Giannulli, citing irreconcilable differences, a move that caps years of fallout from the couple's guilty pleas in the Operation Varsity Blues fraud case.
The 62-year-old actress, best known for her role on "Full House" and the Hallmark series "When Calls the Heart," filed a petition for dissolution of marriage just before the Labor Day weekend, listing August 31, 2025, as the couple's date of separation. Fox News Digital obtained the court documents, which cite irreconcilable differences as the legal grounds for ending the nearly 29-year union.
Loughlin and Giannulli married on November 27, 1997. They share two adult daughters, Olivia Jade and Bella Rose. A prenuptial agreement signed in October 1997, one month before the wedding, governs the division of separate property in both assets and debts. Community property rights will be determined by a judge under the terms of that prenup.
Spousal support was not settled in the filing. Loughlin's petition asks the court to reserve that question for future determination. Both parties will be responsible for their own attorney's fees. The filing also requests that any court ruling include detailed calculations covering property characterization, credits, reimbursements, tax consequences, and costs.
The divorce did not come without warning. In October 2025, Loughlin's representative, Elizabeth Much, confirmed to reporters that the couple had already split. The New York Post reported the representative's statement at the time:
"They are living apart and taking a break from their marriage. There are no legal proceedings at this time."
That statement squares with the separation date listed in the filing, August 31, 2025, but it also raises a straightforward question. If the couple formally separated in late August, the representative's October statement that "there are no legal proceedings" suggests Loughlin waited months before making the split official in court.
No account of this divorce can skip over what preceded it. Loughlin and Giannulli both pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud in connection with the federal Operation Varsity Blues investigation, the sprawling college admissions scandal that exposed wealthy parents paying bribes to get their children into elite universities. The couple paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to secure admission for their daughters at the University of Southern California, allegedly as fake rowing recruits.
Loughlin served nearly three months in prison and was released in December 2020. Giannulli served five months and was released in April 2021. Both carried federal fraud convictions out the door with them.
Five years after the scandal, the marriage is over. And at least one prominent voice close to Loughlin has made clear where he thinks the blame belongs.
In October 2025, the same month Loughlin's representative confirmed the separation, John Stamos appeared on the "Good Guys" podcast and offered a blistering defense of Loughlin. He called Giannulli "a terrible narcissist" and said Loughlin was "a saint" who did not deserve the consequences she faced. Fox News reported his comments:
"She goes to f---ing prison for this a**hole for three months, right? And he goes for whatever... She didn't deserve to be dragged through that... I know for a fact it was all him."
Stamos also recounted a conversation with Loughlin about her time behind bars. He described her response as characteristically understated:
"And in typical Lori fashion, I said, 'How was it?' She goes, 'You know, I met a lot of nice ladies in there. We have a book club.'"
Stamos's remarks are his own characterization, not established fact. Both Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded guilty. Both served time. But Stamos's willingness to go on the record, and to place responsibility squarely on Giannulli, adds a layer of personal context to a divorce filing that might otherwise read as a dry legal document.
Since her release from prison, Loughlin has gradually returned to acting. She has appeared in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Blue Bloods," "On Call," and holiday television movies. In an April 2024 interview with First for Women Magazine, she spoke publicly about moving forward:
"No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. 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. Life's too short."
That quote reads differently now. Letting things go, it turns out, eventually meant letting go of the marriage itself.
Fox News Digital sent requests for comment to representatives for both Loughlin and Giannulli. No responses were reported.
The filing leaves major financial questions unresolved. The total value of community property subject to court determination has not been disclosed. How the prenuptial agreement will shape the division of assets, and whether spousal support will ultimately be awarded, remains to be seen.
What is clear is the trajectory. A marriage that survived nearly three decades could not survive the consequences of the choices made within it. Both Loughlin and Giannulli broke the law, both paid a price, and now the last bond between them is headed for a judge's desk.
Accountability has a way of outlasting the sentence.
