EXCLUSIVE: Lori Loughlin's Friends Worried She Still Had a 'Blind Spot' for Ex Mossimo Giannulli After Split — 'He's Got a Real Hold on Her'

Lori Loughlin's inner circle once worried she'd try to patch things up with her estranged ex Mossimo Giannulli shortly after they called it quits.

Ahead of the Full House star's 62nd birthday on July 28, RadarOnline.com revisits her breakup and where she is at today.

Loughlin, 61, and the fashion designer, 63, separated in October 2025 after nearly 28 years of marriage, but according to sources, she wasn't over him.

A source told Radar last year that the mother-of-two's close pals, including John Stamos and James Tupper, warned her to move ahead with the divorce, but the actress "still has this blind spot" when it comes to her soon-to-be ex-husband.

"She can’t bring herself to hate Mossimo and even now she’s still finding ways to defend him," added the source. "He’s got a real hold on her, even now."

The When Calls the Heart actress also seemingly had concerns that her longtime partner had been experiencing "post-prison trauma" after they both served time for their roles in a college admissions scheme, according to the source.

As Radar previously reported, Giannulli and Loughlin were both involved in a high-profile scandal – nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues – alongside around 50 others. They allegedly paid half a million dollars in bribes to get their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, into the University of Southern California.

In 2020, they both pleaded guilty to conspiracy-related charges. Giannulli was sentenced to five months behind bars and Loughlin was ordered to serve two months.

"One excuse she keeps making is that he’s going through some type of midlife crisis or post-prison trauma, which her friends and even their kids are dismissing as total BS and no excuse for destroying the marriage," the source explained of Loughlin's prior hesitance to close the door on their relationship.

"Still, Lori’s trying to see the good in him and is pushing hard for them to attend therapy together," the source continued. "It’s like she can’t let go, even after all the hurt and pain he’s put her through."

Stamos, who has been close with Loughlin for decades since they starred together on Full House, spoke out on her impending divorce during an October 2025 appearance on the Good Guys podcast.

"She put up with a lot over the years of this guy," he said at the time.

“She’s just devastated," he continued. "For a girl who has lived her life really well, a good person, a good mother, a good wife – I know all this for a fact – to be thrown into now this separation and, you know, exploding, blowing up her family this way... I just hate to see her go through this. I really do."

But Loughlin is moving on. In fact, she's quietly dipping her toes back into the dating pool and "putting herself back out there."

According to an insider who spoke with Us Weekly, Loughlin has been "having fun and keeping things light and casual," months after her split.