Olivia Jade Giannulli, 21, is “staying strong” for her mother Lori Loughlin, 56, who just went to prison for paying $500K in bribes to get her daughters into USC. Olivia’s father Mossimo Giannulli, 57, was also sentenced to prison time for his part in the college admissions scandal, and has been ordered to surrender by Nov. 19. Having both of her parents behind bars for the holidays will be “extremely difficult” for the influencer, but multiple sources tell HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that she has a great support system — including her boyfriend Jackson Guthy, 24.
“Olivia’s staying strong for the sake of her parents,” a friend of the YouTube star tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, “because she doesn’t want this to be any harder on them than it has to be. It’s obviously very hard for all of them but they are getting through it as a family.”
“She’s been spending as much time as she can with her family and has just doing everything she can to be there for her parents while they prepared for this. Her boyfriend [Jackson Guthy] has really been there for her too, he’s been a rock for her and she’s so grateful she will have him to lean on while her parents are away,” our source says.
Lori and her fashion designer husband Mossimo were sentenced on August 21 for paying $500,000 in bribes to get Olivia Jade and her sister Isabella Rose Giannulli, 22, admitted to USC as crew team recruits — even though they never played the sport. Lori was given two months behind bars and, according to TMZ, the Fuller House actress self-surrendered to the FCI Dublin in California on October 30.
And according to a second source close Olivia, she’s “proud” of how well her mom is doing. “Olivia is so proud of how bravely her mom is handling her sentence,” the insider tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “She never imagined their family would be in this type of a situation or that something like this could ever happen, but Olivia knows that what her parents did was wrong.
“Of course, Olivia is going to miss her mom so much while she’s away and it’s going to be really difficult knowing they’ll be in prison during the holidays. Olivia knows she has a huge support system around her and she’s always been strong and independent. She will get through this time with her family no matter what and is staying positive by focusing on the next chapter when this is behind them,” the insider says.
The jail time comes after more than a year of legal back and forth for Lori and Mossimo, who’s part in the “Operation Varsity Blues” scandal first broke in 2019, and a third source close to the Malibu raised model says she’s “relieved” they will soon be able to put it behind them.
“Olivia has been involved with her parents situation for so long,” explains our source. “and she is both relieved and shocked that her mom is finally in prison. Olivia is being strong for her parents and her mom and she has had plenty of tears but she is happy that she will have the chance to start fresh in 2021 with her goals and dreams and her parents will leave all the drama to this year. It has been trying but Olivia has accepted it and is doing the absolute best she can for all involved.”