Lori Loughlin is experiencing extreme levels of anxiety amid the college admissions scandal, according to a new report.
An unnamed source told Entertainment Tonight that Loughlin’s “anxiety is through the roof, she is terrified, and she’s been consumed with trying to put on a happy face but it’s not easy under the circumstances.”
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli, could be crew team recruits for the University of Southern California. The couple pleaded not guilty in the case, and expect to head to trial.
Fellow celebrity mother Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty to her charges in the scandal. She was sentenced to 14 days in prison. Speculation emerged immediately after Huffman’s trial about Loughlin’s future and how long she might spend behind bars if convicted.
“The college scandal has been the biggest challenge of Lori’s life,” the unnamed source told Entertainment Tonight. “She never imagined her public persona would plummet or she could face jail time. This has affected every aspect of her life.”
Loughlin has tired to stay positive though amid the scandal.
“Lori has been trying to stay positive and resolved herself to the fact she’s a good person that meant no wrong and that she made the right decision to share an attorney with her husband and not take a plea,” the source told Entertainment Tonight.
Loughlin and her husband face a potential sentence of 40 years in prison.
A University of Utah law professor told me that she expects Loughlin’s sentence to be much higher than Huffman’s if she is convicted.
“I think Lori Loughlin’s sentence will likely be higher,” she said. “Others in the case have received harsher sentences. Typically when defendants choose to go to trial, they are more likely to receive harsher sentences.”