By Mark Gray
7:15pm PDT, Nov 1, 2023
_
It's been four years since Lori Loughlin made headlines due to her involvement in a college admissions scandal. Almost immediately, things changed for the "Full House" star, who was written out of Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart" as she fought her legal battles.
Now, Lori's big return to "When Calls the Heart" could finally be on the horizon: The show's co-creator recently revealed there have been "good conversations" about Lori returning to her Abigail Stanton role.
Keep reading for details…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
_
During an appearance on the "Heart to Hearties" podcast, "When Calls the Heart" co-creator Brian Bird spoke candidly about Lori Loughlin returning to the show.
"Well, this is a tricky question and what I can say is that there are good conversations happening," he said. "We can't guarantee anything, but there are good conversations happening around this topic."
Lori, he added, is "doing really good."
_
Although Lori Loughlin was written off of "When Calls the Heart," she made her return to TV in December 2022 with "When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas," which is a spinoff of "When Calls the Heart."
Since her Abigail Stanton character was only written off the show and not killed off, a return is very possible.
"She's assured us that she has found some peace and she's made it through her ordeal — her and her husband's ordeal — and she's in a much better place than she was," said series co-creator Brian Bird. "Our attitude always has been, you know, as the producing team [and] the writing team around 'When Calls the Heart' that what better place for second chances than Hope Valley. And so in theory, it should work, right? But again, can't fully promise it, but we're working on it."
In addition to her brief Hallmark return — her first since her imprisonment — Lori also starred on Great American Family channel's TV film "Fall Into Winter," which aired in January 2023.
_
In 2019, Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were accused of paying a $500,000 bribe to college admissions "expert" Rick Singer in exchange for getting their daughters into USC under false pretenses: that they were crew team recruits.
Although they initially denied wrongdoing, the couple eventually took a plea deal: She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.
They were among 50 people charged in the college admissions scheme.
_
After taking a plea deal, Lori Loughlin spent two months locked up at FCI Dublin. Her husband served nearly five months at FCI Lompoc and was released in April 2021.
Lori was also ordered to pay a $150,000 fine and was placed on two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service. Mossimo was required to pay a $250,000 fine. He, too, was given two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service.
