For years, Lori Loughlin desperately tried to save her marriage to Mossimo Giannulli, friends of the actress told Page Six, even going so far as to question the stripper about her now-estranged husband’s activities, according to sources.
The “Full House” star is said to have been quietly struggling with her nearly 28-year marriage, dating back to before she and Giannulli were jailed for the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal in 2019.
A family friend said Loughlin, 61, once visited a Los Angeles strip club that Giannulli, 62, reportedly frequented, and asked the dancers questions about her husband.
“For years, Mossimo went to a club called Skin on Robertson (Boulevard) in Los Angeles,” a friend said. “Years ago, Lori went there to talk to the women and find out what he was doing…she actually sat down with the strippers.”
Loughlin’s representative confirmed her breakup with Giannulli earlier this month.
On Monday, Loughlin’s longtime Full House co-star John Stamos claimed Loughlin has “put up with a lot over the years.”
Stamos called Giannulli a “terrible narcissist” and said on the Good Guys podcast that “everything negative and difficult that[Loughlin]has gone through in her life has something to do with this man.”
She added: “I will never speak to him again.”
We reached out to Mr. Laughlin and Mr. Giannulli multiple times for comment.
“Everything Stamos says is really telling,” said a source who worked with Loughlin around the time she and Giannulli were arrested in the admissions scandal. The couple ultimately pleaded guilty to fraud for paying $500,000 to get their daughters Isabella Rose, 27, and Olivia Jade, 26, into the University of Southern California.
Sources said Loughlin and Giannulli have long enjoyed a very nice life thanks to their success as fashion designers, including their long-standing partnership with Target.
“The sky’s the limit with ‘Full House’ and Hallmark,” a source said of Loughlin’s TV career. “There would have been pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle.”
Giannulli, who runs the fashion company G/Fore, loves not only gambling and golf, but also luxuriating in cosmetics. Earlier this year, he was playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Scotland’s famous St Andrews course, alongside celebrities such as Michael Douglas and Michael Bloomberg.
His “pride and joy” is reportedly playing golf at the celebrity-favorite Bel Air Country Club.
But family friends say Giannulli angered other prominent members — including one who allegedly tried to force Giannulli out over offensive comments.
As Page Six previously reported, Loughlin had hoped Giannulli would change his ways after his release from prison, but to no avail.
In April 2019, the Justice Department announced that several parents across the country, including the couple and actress Felicity Huffman, were involved in a fraudulent scheme to get their children into elite universities.
The scandal took a “tremendous toll” on Loughlin’s marriage, said a source who worked with Loughlin. “Not only did Lori have a career, she was the sweetheart of the Hallmark Channel and America’s Aunt Becky on Full House.”
Mr. Loughlin ultimately served two months in federal prison and was released in December 2020, while Mr. Giannulli completed his five-month sentence in April 2021.
“Mossimo had been using Lori for years,” a friend of Loughlin’s previously told Us. “She had hoped that he might change once he got out of prison, but he got worse.”
Stamos said this week: “I tried my best to be there for her during[the divorce]and during the college scandal. I’m not going to debate whether she had a lot to do with it or not. I know she had nothing to do with it… She’s going to jail for three months because of this motherfucker (Giannulli).”
Loughlin was married to film executive Michael Burns from 1989 to 1996. She was introduced to Giannulli at a Los Angeles restaurant while technically still married to Burns.
“When I met Moss, I knew he was my love,” Loughlin told Closer.
Loughlin and Giannulli eloped in 1997 after their divorce.
As Page Six previously reported, Loughlin found “incriminating” texts and emails on Giannulli’s phone and called for an end to the marriage.
“Really, the tipping point came when Lori found a bunch of text messages,” the friend claimed.
And Loughlin feels “betrayed” by her ex-boyfriend, People magazine reported this week.
“It’s not a happy situation for her,” a source told People. “They’re in a very different place now, and it’s unlikely they’ll ever go back.”
The couple maintains a mansion in Hidden Hills, California, but have not yet begun legal proceedings. It reportedly sold for $14.9 million this week.
TMZ reported that the Hallmark stars signed a prenuptial agreement before getting married.
The paper claimed that Giannulli, who was reportedly worth more than $100 million at the time of their wedding, “insisted” that Loughlin sign an agreement that would count the assets as separate property.
A top divorce lawyer in California told Page Six that if Loughlin signed such a prenuptial agreement, she would have to abide by the document even if there was infidelity in the marriage. Giannulli will also receive “the equivalent of $1” of what he paid for the home.
For now, Loughlin’s friends are keeping her grounded.
“Everyone loves Lori,” a Full House source told Page Six. “We’re not going anywhere.”
