The Real Reason Lori Loughlin Divorced Her First Husband

Who knew Aunt Becky from the classic sitcom series Full House would later become involved in one of my most scandalous college scams of a generation? Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were arrested on March 12, 2019 in connection to an alleged nationwide college admissions cheating scandal. According to People, Loughlin and Giannulli were accused of paying bribes to the University of Southern California totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, listed as crew team recruits so they could get into the school. A little over a year later, in May 2020, The New York Times reported that Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and Giannulli also pleaded guilty to one count of honest services wire and mail fraud. 

Though Loughlin and Giannulli have been married since 1997, it's often forgotten that the designer is not Aunt Becky's first husband (and no, her first hubby wasn't Uncle Jessie). The actress was married to Michael Burns, the Vice Chairman of Lionsgate, for seven years (via AmoMama), divorcing a year prior to the Loughlin-Giannulli nuptials. What separated the two after close to a decade? Let's take a look.

When it comes to relationships, finding "the one" can take a bit of trial and error. That may have been the case with Lori Loughlin and Michael Burns. During an exclusive interview with Closer Weekly in 2018, Loughlin simply said "he wasn't the one."

"He was a great human being, but I just felt he wasn't the one for me. I was probably too young and didn't know enough about what I needed," she said, "but I couldn't say one bad thing about him. He was a really nice person." 

Apparently the feelings were different with her current husband Mossimo Guiannulli, who Loughlin called "my guy." She recalled meeting him and there being "something different than with anybody else" she'd ever met. Despite the couple going through a tough time amid legal issues, with one source telling People that the college bribery court case has "shaken" their marriage, the two are sticking together for their daughters.