Lori Loughlin once said 'I never pushed my kids'; Felicity Huffman asked for 'hacks'

It was important to "Full House" star Lori Loughlin that her kids have "the college experience" that she missed out on, she said back in 2016.

Loughlin, along with "Desperate Housewives" actress Felicity Huffman, is among those charged in a scheme in which parents allegedly bribed college coaches and insiders at testing centers to help get their children into some of the most elite schools in the country, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Investigators say in Tuesday's affidavit that in July 2016, Loughlin and her husband, who also was charged, "agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC (University of Southern California) crew team, despite the fact they did not participate in crew, thereby facilitating their admission to USC." Loughlin appeared in court Wednesday and was released on a $1 million bail. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, received the same bail Tuesday.

The Daytime Emmy-award winning actress and Giannulli share daughters Isabella Rose, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, who has a YouTube channel of beauty tips.

Related: Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin: What do feds allege they did and what happens next?

"I want them to be happy," Loughlin told Entertainment Tonight back in 2016. "I want to be supportive of everything they want to do, but I do want them to have somewhat of a normal (life). Finish out high school, college experience – maybe because I didn't have that, I really want that for them."

Loughlin said she encouraged her children to pursue higher education to "have a little more control over your own destiny," unlike her own experience with acting, where she explained, "nine times out of 10 you didn't get the job."

Despite wanting her daughters to go to college, Loughlin told Page Six in 2017 that, "I never pushed my kids." Instead, the actress told them to "give it your all."

"I always say, 'Do the best you can,'" she said. "For my husband, too … we were never like, 'At school you got to get straight As.' We were never those parents."

Loughlin went on to say that students face "so much pressure and stress" from their parents, which she deemed an "unnecessary" burden.

"I think it’s important to just have downtime, free time," she said. "I never over-scheduled my kids. Never. I always gave them plenty of time to just sit in their playroom and, you know, use their imaginations."

The actress also talked to the "Today" show in 2017 about sending her daughter to college.

"I think I’m in complete denial, I really am because when I think about it too much it will make me cry so I gotta stop," Loughlin told Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford about watching her daughter Isabella leave the nest. “My husband keeps saying, 'Lori you’re not gonna see her so just be prepared.'"

Although Loughlin dreamed of her girls experiencing university life, Olivia Jade made it clear she wasn't that interested in college. In one of her online videos last summer, the beauty influencer explained that her extensive work schedule is her main priority, not textbooks.

Related: Lori Loughlin's daughter Olivia is being trolled over bribery case: 'Expel this cheater'

"I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know," she said in the video.

She later apologized in another video, adding that she didn't intent to come off as, "I’m just gonna be successful at YouTube and not have to worry about school."

Last week, Olivia Jade told "The Zach Sang Show" that "my parents really wanted me to go (to college) because both of them didn’t go," before jokingly calling them "hypocrites." "But I’m so happy they made me go," she added.

The beauty guru also revealed that her father "faked his way through" college.

"He, like, built his whole entire brand (Mossimo Supply Co.) and he wasn’t actually, like, ever … enrolled in college," she said during the interview on March 8. "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 OK."

Meanwhile, some of Huffman's past tweets are coming under scrutiny.

In August 2016, the actress asked her Twitter followers for any "'hacks' for the back-to-school season?"

The Oscar-nominated actress and her husband, Oscar-nominated actor William H. Macy, 68, have two daughters, Sofia Grace, 18, and Georgia Grace, who turns 17 on March 14.

Another piece of trivia from Huffman's pop culture past is coming back to haunt her, with a "Got Milk?" campaign she did with Macy in 2011 resurfacing on social media.

The advertisement shows the couple embracing, with text that says: "Helping our kids means giving them the right cues."

Macy is not on the list of nearly 40 parents who were charged with participating in the nationwide bribery scheme, and the FBI affidavit lists him only as "spouse." But the affidavit says Huffman's "spouse" participated in conversations at their Los Angeles home with a confidential witness about the scheme.

In January, Macy talked to Parade about the pressure that came with his oldest daughter applying for college.

"My daughter Sofia, the oldest, is going to LAHSA (Los Angeles High School of the Arts). She’s thriving there. … She’s going to go to college," he told the publication. "We’re right now in the thick of college application time, which is so stressful. I am voting that once she gets accepted, she maybe takes a year off (to pursue acting)."

Just weeks ago, Huffman referred to Macy as her "partner in crime since we met."

The affidavit says Huffman and her "spouse" made a "purported" charitable donation of $15,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation, a Newport Beach, California-based charitable organization, in February 2018, according to the affidavit.

The "contribution" was made to "participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her older daughter" prior to the December 2017 SAT college entrance exam. The SAT is the most common exam high-school students take before applying to colleges and universities.

The "Desperate Housewives" actress, 56, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon, hours after her arrest and was released on $250,000 and with travel restrictions.

"Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so," the affidavit says.

Macy told Parade that "my daughter Georgia, she's interested in politics, political science and pursuing that. She’s in a very academic school and killing it."

Contributing: Maria Puente and Jayme Deerwester

Related: Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin among dozens indicted in largest-ever case alleging bribery to get kids into colleges

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lori Loughlin once said 'I never pushed my kids'; Felicity Huffman asked for 'hacks'