The "Full House" actress filed for divorce from fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli after almost three decades of marriage, a split that sources say has been building since the couple's conviction in the 2019 college admissions scandal.
Lori Loughlin submitted the divorce paperwork last week, citing irreconcilable differences, NBC News reported. Court documents list August 31, 2025, as the couple's date of separation, meaning they had been living apart for roughly a year before Loughlin made the split official. The filing also indicates the couple has a prenuptial agreement, though its terms have not been disclosed.
Loughlin, 62, is best known for her role as Aunt Becky on the long-running sitcom "Full House" and its Netflix sequel "Fuller House." Giannulli founded the fashion label Mossimo in 1986. They married in 1997 and share two daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli.
The filing did not come as a surprise to people in the couple's orbit. The New York Post reported that sources told Us Weekly the split is final, with one person close to the situation saying plainly that the couple "will not reconcile, there is currently no chance, and will ultimately divorce."
Another source described Loughlin as emotionally gutted by the end of the marriage. "This isn't a shock to people around them," the source said. "It has been a rough time for Lori. She is devastated."
Before the divorce filing, the couple had already been living apart. Loughlin's representative, Elizabeth Much, confirmed the separation to Fox News, stating, "Lori and Mossimo are living apart. There are no legal proceedings underway." That statement preceded the formal filing. The couple also listed their Hidden Hills home in Los Angeles for $16.5 million.
Celebrity divorces have become a steady drumbeat in recent months. Jelly Roll's split from Bunnie Xo made headlines when a moving truck arrived at the couple's Tennessee home, and other high-profile marriages have unraveled publicly across the entertainment world.
The divorce caps a turbulent stretch that began in 2019, when the FBI's "Varsity Blues" investigation exposed a sprawling college admissions fraud scheme. Loughlin and Giannulli admitted to paying $500,000 to Rick Singer and his Key Worldwide Foundation to have their two daughters falsely designated as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team. Neither daughter was a rower.
Both parents pleaded guilty and served federal prison time. Loughlin received a two-month sentence, a $150,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service. Giannulli drew a harsher penalty: five months behind bars, a $250,000 fine, and 250 hours of community service. The disparity reflected Giannulli's larger role in the scheme, as prosecutors described it at the time.
The scandal stripped Loughlin of her wholesome public image almost overnight. She lost her recurring role on the Hallmark Channel series "When Calls the Heart" and became one of the most recognizable faces of the admissions fraud case, which ensnared dozens of wealthy parents across the country.
In a separate but thematically similar situation, musician Jack White's wife recently filed for divorce alleging conduct that made living together untenable, another case where a marriage buckled under extraordinary pressure.
Loughlin herself acknowledged the personal toll in public remarks. "Every day, we're met with different obstacles," she said. "But, for me, it's like that song says, I get knocked down, but I get up again." Those words, spoken before the divorce filing, now read as a preview of the decision to come.
Court documents confirm the existence of a prenuptial agreement between Loughlin and Giannulli, but the terms have not been made public. Given Giannulli's fashion empire, Mossimo became a household name through a licensing deal with Target, and Loughlin's decades-long acting career, the financial stakes of the divorce could be significant.
The filing does not specify which court has jurisdiction, and no details about property disputes or other contested matters have surfaced. Giannulli has not responded publicly to the divorce filing.
The broader pattern of celebrity marriages collapsing in public view raises a familiar question about whether fame and legal crisis accelerate fractures that might otherwise stay private. In the Loughlin-Giannulli case, the timeline speaks for itself: a federal investigation, guilty pleas, prison sentences, a year of living apart, and now a divorce filing citing irreconcilable differences.
Some marriages survive scandal. This one, by all available evidence, did not. The $500,000 the couple paid to cheat their daughters into college bought them criminal records, prison time, and, six years later, the end of a 29-year marriage.
Actions have consequences. That lesson cost Loughlin and Giannulli more than a fine.
