Here’s How ‘Fuller House’ Wrote Lori Loughlin Off the Show

The Fuller House saga comes to a close with the release of the back half of Season 5. This batch of episodes was designed to tie up loose ends from not only the Netflix comedy’s four-year run, but it serves as the grand finale of a beloved sitcom universe. After all, Full House was rather abruptly canceled back in 1995, robbing that series of any type of closure. So the Fuller House finale really has a lot to live up to!

When it comes to series finales, there’s one thing fans always look forward to: familiar faces. There’s no time like the very end to run through a bunch of reunions and cameos from fan favorite characters. It’s not a spoiler to say that a lot of old pals pop up in the new episodes, but what about Lori Loughlin? She’s gotten in a lot of hot water (to put it mildly) in the past year, so it was not a surprise when she failed to show up in the first half of Season 5. Fuller House and Netflix cut ties with the actress before the season began filming. But does that mean she’s not in Season 5 at all? Is she even mentioned?! If the only spoilers you’re interested in are Aunt Becky spoilers, then here’s the info you seek.

Is Lori Loughlin in Fuller House Season 5?

No. Lori Loughlin is not part of Fuller House Season 5. There is no cameo, no flashback, no nothing. She is fully absent from every single episode.

Does Fuller House Season 5 mention Aunt Becky? Does it explain Aunt Becky’s absence?

An absence as big as this one has to be explained away, right? The new episodes include a Thanksgiving episode and the series finale, which is a triple wedding involving two of Becky’s nieces. Those are major life moments! So, where is Becky?

Surprisingly, Becky is not mentioned in the Thanksgiving episode, nor is she mentioned in the series finale. Instead, we get a brief mention of her whereabouts in episode 5×15, “Be Yourself, Free Yourself.” In the episode, Uncle Jesse returns for a plot about his young daughter Pamela getting bitten at school. He embarks on a quest to find out which tiny culprit did the deed so he can instruct Pamela to get her revenge.

When Jesse tells DJ about his (very bad) plan, she asks him if he’s run this whole investigation by Aunt Becky. He replies, “Aunt Becky is in Nebraska helping out her mother. I don’t want to bother her with a tiny thing like this.” That’s it. Becky is in Nebraska helping out her mother. Is her mother sick? Changing careers? Moving? Organizing a charity auction? What? We don’t know.

Why isn’t Lori Loughlin on Fuller House?

In case you missed it last year, Loughlin is currently awaiting sentencing for her role in the college admissions scandal. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted and charged with paying $500,000 so that their daughters would be accepted to USC under the presumption that they would join the women’s rowing team (a total lie).

In the immediate fallout, Loughlin was fired from her Hallmark series When Calls the Heart as well as Fuller House. In May 2020, Loughlin pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. She will most likely spend two months in jail, pay a $150K fine, required to perform 100 hours of community service, and spend two years on supervised release.

Stream Fuller House on Netflix