Lori Loughlin says she's 'grateful' five years after college admissions scandal

Lori Loughlin is opening up about life after her infamous 2019 college admissions scandal.

In her first major interview since the scandal, Loughlin — who served jail time and paid a fine after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges for securing the college admissions of her two children, Olivia Jade and Bella Giannulli — spoke to First for Women about "persevering" through tough times and overcoming challenges.

"As an actress, I hear 'no' a lot, so I just have to be myself and persevere and try not to let in negativity," the "Full House" alum said.

"My advice is to just keep moving forward. Everyone has good times and bad times. That’s life. I think you just have to pick yourself up. Nobody said life was going to be a breeze. There’s beauty in life, but there’s also hardship in life," she continued.

Though the the actor didn't directly address the scandal, she did open up about forgiveness and her ability to not to "hold onto stuff."

"Stuff happens to everyone," she said. "We’ve all been in positions to ask for forgiveness but to ask for it, you have to learn and know how to give forgiveness, too."

"My family wasn’t one to hold grudges," she continued. "I didn’t grow up in a household where if you made a mistake, you weren’t forgiven. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. So I was always told to let stuff go. And I think for your own health, you have to let things go because you can’t hang on to negativity. Life’s too short.”

In December 2020, Loughlin was released from prison after serving 2-months in jail for her involvement in a nationwide college admissions scandal. 

Loughlin, who pled guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, received a lot of backlash online when she and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, admitted to paying $500,000 to a fixer to help their daughters gain admission to the University of Southern California by falsely portraying them as rowing recruits.

When asked how she deals with negative people in her life, Loughlin told First for Women she starts by being "kind" because you never know what someone else is going through.

"I always try to consider what other people might be going through — and to think before I speak," she said. "I try to take a moment if a person is acting up and say, 'Wait a minute… I don’t know their whole story.”

Now, reflecting on how she views herself today, Loughlin describes herself as "kind" and "strong."

"And open — open to life, open to experiences. And I’m grateful. So I’d say I’m strong, grateful, open and kind," she added.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com