William H. Macy Says Felicity Huffman's Relationship With Daughters 'Exploded' After College Scandal
Sep. 10 2019, Updated 4:12 p.m. ET
William H. Macy is standing up for his wife, Felicity Huffman, as she awaits her sentence in the college admission scandal.
In a letter to Judge Indira Talwani, the actor shared loving words of support for his wife, and explained why, in his eyes, she got tangled up in the illegal SAT drama. In his note, William said that after Felicity's relationship “with her daughters exploded on March 12th,” when news of the actress’ involvement in the scam was exposed.
“Rebuilding that relationship will be a long process,” he wrote. “But I also want you to know Felicity has raised two amazing young women.”
At the time, Sophia, 19, was banned from entering her college of choice — a school which, ironically, doesn't require SAT scores for admission.
Sophia “paid the dearest price” after he mother’s arrest, William wrote, recalling the moment they heard about her ban from the school.
“She called us from the airport in hysterics, begging us to ‘do something, please, please do something,'” William said. “From the devastation of that day, Sophia is slowly regaining her equilibrium and getting on with her life. She still doesn’t like to sleep alone and has nightmares from the FBI agents waking her that morning with guns drawn.”
RadarOnline.com readers know that this May, Felicity pled guilty to paying a proctor $15,000 to correct daughter Sophia's SAT answers. Now, she could face time in prison. Felicity will be sentenced on September 13. Through her attorney, she's asked the judge for one year of probation and community service.
In his letter, William details Felicity's difficult childhood and tough upbringing, saying that despite the fact that her mother was very stern with her and she had to figure out life mostly on her own, “Felicity’s family is her world.”
“From the day we learned that Sophia Grace Macy was on her way, Felicity threw herself into parenting,” the Shameless actor wrote. “She read mountains of books and sought out of the best and the brightest on the subject. She sought out parents whose children impressed her and picked their brains on child-rearing.”
He added that his wife always worried about being a mother, especially with her and Williams’s statuses as a Hollywood stars. Because of that, “we decided to keep them as far away from our business as possible," said the actor, adding that they kept their kids away from industry events and stopped them from being photographed by paparazzi.
“Watching Felicity being a mother is a wonderful thing to see,” William wrote. “But motherhood has, from the very beginning, frightened Felicity and she has not carried being a mom easily. She’s struggled to find the balance between what the experts say and her common sense.”
He explained that the college admissions scam — though a mistake — was just another example of Felicity trying to protect their girls.
Until this day, Felicity and their two daughters have been attending family therapy.
“There is much to be done, and some of the hurt and anger will take years to work through, but we are making progress,” he wrote. “Thank you, Your Honor. If I may I’d like to tell you one more thing: every good thing in my life is because of Felicity Huffman.”
The Desperate Housewives actress wrote her own letter of apology to the judge, and had 27 people — including former costar Eva Longoria — write notes of support.