Why Lori Loughlin does not shrink from his legal battle

Consider the lockdown period as a thing of the past.

What began as a wave of observations – a trip to her usual yoga abode, a car wash race in West Hollywood – has become an official night: Lori Loughlin is done with hiding.

While hiding in the six-bedroom Bel-Air mansion, she shares with her husband Mossimo Giannulli felt right in the early days following March 12, when they were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services, due to their alleged role in the Varsity College Admissions scandal. Blues, it's time to move on.

Because she was there, just hours after her potential prison term was parodied on Saturday Night Live last weekend, attend Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, with Giannulli. Casual, in pants and tops, with the exception of their matching Gucci loafers, the two decades and more are left in a good state of mind, palm branch in hand, resembling n. any duo that is preparing for the upcoming holidays.

But what happened next was not the result of divine intervention.

On Monday, she and Giannulli, who had already taken out a $ 1 million bond, handed over their official response to the district attorney's office, pleading not guilty to the initial charges, as well as the conspiracy charges to commit fraud. and money laundering that were rendered replacing the indictment last week.

Their decision was a surprise to many legal analysts, none of whom represent the couple, but all of whom weighed in the recommendations to make an advocacy agreement. But an insider tells E! News the 54 year old player Fuller House actress, accused of paying about $ 500,000 in bribes to get girls Isabella Rose Giannulli20 and Olivia Jade Giannulli19, in the prestigious University of Southern California falsely claiming that it 's about team recruits, according to an FBI affidavit, is not entirely convinced that "it' s all about". she is wrong.

"Lori really believes that she is not guilty and that any parent would have done the same thing as if she had been in this situation," says the insider. With the national scandal involving institutions such as Georgetown, Stanford, and Yale, challenging other questionable tactics in university admissions, such as taking advantage of inheritance status and donating considerable sums of money to universities. Universities for a favorable placement, "she does not think that what she did is a criminal act or that she should go to jail," continues the source. "She intends to fight and will not give in."

Another initiate told the native of New York, who tried the model before landing his first concert on a soap opera The edge of the night as a teenager, she is not so stubborn that she is naive about the seriousness of her actions. "She does not think that they are cheaters," says the insider. "They just do not see it that way." At this point, she feels she has no choice but to double the stake.

When Felicity Huffman and 12 other parents included in the indictment were pleading guilty, she and Giannulli were racking their heels. "She completely denied the concept and thought that she might be able to skate," said a source at E! New. "She refused to accept a prison sentence and thought the prosecutor was bluffing, she was adamant that she would not serve any prison sentence."

By the time she realized that this was not a fake braggart, maybe around the time the second round of charges was laid, it was too late to go back.

"I think she and her lawyers underestimated the motivation of the prosecution, so she did not plead, and then they hit her with a new charge" , recently confided a confidante People. "Now she is ready to negotiate, but the prosecution said the deal was pending, the only choice they have left is to plead not guilty. they can do. "

Now facing a prison term of up to 40 years, the source confesses to E! The news that the case has not been treated in the most ideal way: "The whole situation has gone from a mess to a disaster."

Enjoy the discomfort: Even Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer, do not know exactly how to go from the front.

With nearly four decades of Hollywood experience, the Hallmark Channel regular catches the attention as if she knew it, recognizing the journey of photographers who were documenting her and signing autographs for fans watching her enter a palace. Boston Federal Justice on April 3rd.

"She was visibly extremely nervous and Lori's actress came out, she does not know how to be in public," said a friend. "Her natural reaction was just to smile and try to be light – she has always been so loved and charming, that is the role she knows how to play in public."

But Giannulli would rather go back to a time when his multi-billion dollar Mossimo clothing brand, which once lined Target's shelves, was much better known than his now famous face. An insider told E! News, he quietly booked a private plane for his April court appearance in the hope that it would help them go unnoticed: "He is mortified by this whole affair and wants to avoid any unwanted attention in public . "

So, the pair, once so synchronous that they decided on a whim to escape just two days before Thanksgiving in 1997, now almost totally disagree. "There is a gap between Lori and Mossimo," the source told E! New. "He is completely mortified and she takes a happy face and acts as if everything were going to be okay."

In addition to being on the same page for their pleas of not guilty, "they blame themselves and do not agree," says the source. "They are starting to hurt themselves and there is incredible stress and tension."

In the end, says one insider, the married couple will face this difficult situation, as there are others that have arisen during his marriage that has lasted for two decades. Although the insider admits that the situation appears to be "his worst nightmare they can not wake up", and that it has been "incredibly stressful and that they have tried their marriage," they have always grasped the slightest hint of positivity. find.

"There have been dark and tense moments," says the insider. "But they know their backs are against the wall and they hope to overcome that together."

Nevertheless, they could be in times more difficult to come. Although Loughlin is surrounded by a large number of vocal supporters, with everyone on his part Full house family to Paul Greene, his costar on his old show Hallmark, When is the heart callingSpeaking on his behalf, his is not a matter to be judged by the court of public opinion.

A source said People Prosecutors, convinced by their solid case, "say that the only way for anyone to escape prison is to go to trial and be found not guilty." But they say they have such meticulous evidence would be silly to take that risk. "

For Loughlin, however, it's a gamble to take. After considering how the optics of a guilty plea, not to mention the jail sentence that would accompany her would affect her daughters, she is ready to take up the challenge of trying to find the right one. to go from the front.

Bella and Olivia have already seen their entire world upset. No plans for the USC campus lined with palm trees and Olivia observing the empire of influences she's built over many years of diligent publication on YouTube are collapsing.

"She is very distraught and is in crisis mode," said a source to E! New. "Olivia is more embarrassed than anything else and does not know how to handle all the stress and criticism that she and her family are in. She feels completely lost, and she and Lori very much support her. one on the other for total support. "

Which explains the current state of mind of Loughlin's mom bear. The insider says that his main goal is to "protect girls first and foremost". They do not want them to testify. It would be terrifying and humiliating. They will do what they can to avoid this at all costs. "

And while friends say that the actress is much more focused on how the show affects her daughter than the negative impact on herself, she fears what will happen if a prison sentence is handed down .

"She can not imagine what will happen to them if she goes to jail," said a source, stressing that she was ready to do whatever was necessary to avoid this fate. "She rolls the dice and thinks she has a solid defense," said the source. "She really thinks that she has no choice but to fight."