Is Erin Krakow Still Friends With Lori Loughlin After The College Admissions Scandal?

Lori Loughlin was regarded as a talented, fun-loving actor for much of her career, but that all came crashing down after the infamous college admissions scandal. In 2019, Loughlin's life was flipped upside down after news that the "Full House" actor schemed to get her children into college, per NBC. Loughlin paid more than $500,000 to get her daughters into the University of Southern California by posing them as rowing recruits. The "Full House" actor went to jail for her part in the admissions scandal, and many were disgusted that she would do such a thing.

While many distanced themselves from Loughlin, several people had her back, including her former on-screen husband, John Stamos. Stamos defended Loughlin on the "Armchair Expert" podcast, sharing, "She wasn't really the architect of any of it. She was in the way background. She didn't know what was going on. She also paid a lot of money. She set up a college fund for kids and she went to f***ing jail, man."

However, Stamos wasn't the only co-star close to Loughlin before the admissions scandal. Erin Krakow developed a strong friendship with the actor after Loughlin joined the cast of "When Calls the Heart" in 2014, per Blasting News. In the show, Loughlin just so happened to play Abigail Stanton, who's close friends with Krakow's character. It seems this on-screen friendship translated to real life as they became incredibly close — but did the college admissions scandal change all that?

After news of the college admissions scandal broke, Lori Loughlin was dropped from many projects including "When Calls the Heart." In March 2019, Hallmark released a statement saying it would no longer be working with the actor: "We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations. We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions featuring Lori on the Crown Media Family Network channels..."

However, the network ran into an issue, as it cut ties with Loughlin in the middle of airing season 6, which featured the actor some episodes, according to Good Housekeeping. Because of this, the network chose to rewrite the second half of the season, and Erin Krakow's character, Elizabeth Thatcher, was the one to deliver the speech about Loughlin's character's sudden exit. But as time passed, viewers missed the spark that Abigail aka Loughlin brought to the show, and they weren't the only ones who hoped for the actor's return.

Krakow told Good Housekeeping, "I love Lori and would be so happy to see her back in Hope Valley sooner than later. She's obviously always in my heart, so that would bring me a lot of joy." Krakow and Loughlin had developed a strong relationship on the set of "When Calls the Heart" and it was clear that their friendship still stood after the admissions scandal.

Erin Krakow and Lori Loughlin's friendship was so strong that it made its way to social media several times. In 2014, when "When Calls the Heart" was set to premiere for the first time, Krakow shared a behind-the-scenes post of her and her co-stars on-set. She said, "Loving life w/ @loriloughlin @daniellissing #JamesBrolin & #JackWagner #whencallstheheart." As the cast continued to work together, they became close, especially Krakow and Loughlin. In 2018, Krakow shared her love for the "Full House" actor on Instagram with a lengthy caption. She wrote, "At least once a week I'm asked if @loriloughlin is 'as nice in real life as she seems on TV.' I always reply that she's somehow EVEN NICER! ... Lori, your friendship is one of the very best gifts @wcth_tv has given me!"

Krakow's relationship with Loughlin could have faltered after the admissions scandal, but it never wavered. The "Army Wives" star continued to share her appreciation for the "Full House" actor on social media after everything went down. In 2020, Krakow shared a photo of the two for the actor's birthday. She wrote, "Happy Birthday my forever friend. Love you." Although Loughlin deactivated her Instagram by then, Krakow's post didn't go unnoticed. Bella and Olivia Jade, Loughlin's daughters, shared their love in the comments (via Good Housekeeping). So, even after all the admissions drama that went down, Krakow and Loughlin are still close.