Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Olivia Jade Says Dad Mossimo Giannulli ‘Faked His Way’ Through College

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted this week for allegedly paying $500,000 to have their two daughters designated as athletic recruits to the University of Southern California’s crew team, with the couple now facing numerous personal and professional repercussions.

In a recent interview on the Zach Sang Show podcast, their daughter Olivia Jade noted that neither of her parents went to college and joked that her father “faked his way” through school after saying she looks to him for “inspiration.”

“He didn’t come from a lot so it’s cool to see that he built it all himself,” Jade said. “He, like, built his whole entire brand and he wasn’t actually, like, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, ever enrolled in college. But he, like, faked his way through it and then he started his whole business with tuition money that his parents thought was going to college. That’s, like, such a different time. I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, but it’s okay.”

The 19-year-old also discussed her own college application process, saying that her parents “really wanted” her to attend.

When asked why she went to college despite her burgeoning success as an influencer, Olivia replied, “Mostly my parents really wanted me to go because both of them didn’t go to college.”

“I’m so happy they made me go,” she said, before correcting, “That sounds so terrible — they didn’t make me. My sister goes to the same school and we’re pretty much inseparable, so it was nice following in her footsteps a little bit.”

The teen added that it’s “cool to create content from a whole different side of things in school.”

Jade is an influencer with 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.4 million followers on Instagram, though she has also lost multiple sponsorship deals in the wake of the scandal, including partnerships with Sephora and TRESemmé.

A source told PEOPLE that Loughlin and Giannulli were very invested in their daughters’ educations despite the fact that the girls seemed to have only mild interest in college.

“Olivia and Isabella’s personalities were always very different from their parents. They are average students. They have never been obsessed with school and didn’t seem to care that much,” the source said. “They attended school because their parents made them. Their focus was never about getting straight As. It was always clear that it was the parents that pushed them to go to school. Olivia always talks about her vlog. This is her passion. She never really understood why she needs to go to school.”

It is not known whether Jade and her sister, Isabella Rose, were aware of the scam. Their futures at USC are currently unclear, as the university has said it is reviewing the standings of all current students affected by the fraud on a case-by-case basis.

Photo Credit: Instagram / @oliviajade