What We Know About Lori Loughlin's Return To Television
After almost three years, Lori Loughlin is returning to television. As noted on her official IMDb page, the actress previously played Abigail Stanton on "When Calls the Heart" between 2014 and 2019. However, she was written out of the show due to her involvement in the college admissions scandal of 2019. Per Elle, the scandal centered around parents allegedly paying William Rick Singer to bribe college officials and change exam scores, in order to help their children get into college.
According to E! News, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted for allegedly paying $500,000 in bribes to have their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, enrolled in the University of Southern California.
As The Daily Mail reported, Loughlin and Mossimo eventually pleaded guilty and were both sentenced to pay fines and spend time behind bars, with the former serving a two month term at FCI Dublin in Northern California, from where she was released in December 2020. Mossimo, however, was sentenced to five months in prison and was released in April 2021.
Despite the legal drama, Loughlin has made her grand return to television — to the surprise of many.
Lori Loughlin's daughter supported her return to TV
According to The Daily Mail, Lori Loughlin made her controversial TV return on Saturday, December 18, in the season two premiere of GAG Family's "When Hope Calls."
In the two-part premiere, titled "A Country Christmas, Part 1" and "A Country Christmas, Part 2," Loughlin reprised the role of Abigail Stanton, a character she had previously played in Hallmark's "When Calls The Heart" in 2019. In the show, the character of Stanton was written out following the actress' legal troubles.
Loughlin's co-stars, Daniel Lissing and Carter Ryan, uploaded photos of themselves on set with Loughlin. As stated by People, the actress actually deleted her own Instagram account, as well as Twitter, back in March 2019, after the news of the college admissions scandal first broke.
According to People, Loughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, showed her support for her mother's return to TV on her Instagram story. "If you have GAC, be sure to check out this wonderful woman's performance tonight," Olivia Jade wrote on December 19. "Yaaaaa baby SHE BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN for all u hearties," she added.