Hallmark’s ‘When Calls The Heart’ Returns Without Lori Loughlin Amid College Bribery Scandal
May 6 2019, Published 2:52 p.m. ET
The Hallmark series When Calls The Heart returned with a new episode on May 5 without Lori Loughlin, who had a reoccurring role as Abigail Stanton since the show’s beginning in 2014. The actress recently pleaded “not guilty” to the charges brought against her in the college bribery scandal, but most of her work ties were severed months ago. Read on for more details.
Lori, 54, was dumped from Hallmark on March 14 after news broke of her alleged involvement in the college bribery scandal to get her daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella into the University of Southern California.
Three episodes into season 6, When Calls The Heart seemed to go on an unplanned mid-season break from March 10 to their latest episode on May 5 without Lori. The show opened with a narration that began, “We never know how life will turn. It’s been a week since Abigail got word that her mother had taken ill back east.”
“True to her nature, Abigail wasted no time in rushing off to care for her. Abigail is much more than a friend, she’s family. I will miss her and Cody deeply, we all will, but we must get by as best we can,” the narrator continued.
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The message ended, “We all keep Abigail and her family in our prayers in her absence and wish her Godspeed. In her absence, we must soldier on and we will. We are a community, we are strong, we are Hope Valley.”
In March the Hallmark network released a statement that read, “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 that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production.”
What do you think about how Lori’s character was cut from When Calls The Heart? Let us know in the comments below!