Erin Krakow Shares Heartfelt Birthday Post to "Forever Friend" Lori Loughlin

From Good Housekeeping

• Back in March, When Calls the Heart actress Lori Loughlin was one of 50 people charged in a nationwide college admissions scandal (called "Varsity Blues").

• Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly agreed to pay bribes of up to $500,000 in exchange for helping their two daughters get into the University of Southern California.

• When Calls the Heart carried out the rest of season 6 without Lori and removed the actress from the show's promotional materials.

Good news, Hearties: When Calls the Heart star Erin Krakow is making up for the fact that the hit Hallmark show is off the air until 2020. On Sunday night (yep, the same time you used to be hanging with your pals in Hope Valley), the Hallmark actress shared a heartfelt Instagram post to celebrate former co-star Lori Loughlin's birthday.

Erin, who plays Elizabeth Thatcher on the show, has publicly shared her support for Lori following the news that the 55-year-old actress was wrapped up in the nation's largest college admissions scandal. Back in April, Erin posted a not-so-cryptic message reminding Hearties — and Lori, especially — that she will always be there to offer support and love to her co-star and friend, no matter what. This time, however, Erin kept things short and sweet with a simple birthday post: "Happy Birthday to my forever friend with a heart of gold. Love you," she wrote.

This sweet message also reminded Hearties what they're truly missing: Lori (and Abigial Stanton). "Everybody deserves to have a second chance fore a mistake. I miss you Lori," wrote one fan. Others praised Erin's loyalty to Lori. "Thank you for showing what true friendship looks like ♥️," another commented.

Since the pair fist met on When Calls the Heart six years ago, they've continued to gush about how much they love each other as co-stars and friends. On Lori's birthday last year, Erin said that her friendship with Lori " is one of the very best gifts When Calls the Heart has given me." Based on her latest Instagram post, it seems like that sentiment still rings true.

The entire WCTH cast has been extremely supportive of Lori, even after Hallmark fired her from the show. Like many fans at home, the cast — Paul Greene, in particular — was shocked to learn that someone like Lori (C'mon, she plays Abigial Stanton and Aunt Becky!) would get involved in such a scandal. "Who she is and what she does as a philanthropist and how much she gives back … I don’t want to get into details of my opinion, but my heart goes out to her and my support is always with her," Paul told Us Weekly in May.

Jack Wagner, who plays Bill Avery on the show, took things even further by comparing Lori's departure from WCTH to "the five stages of grief." And while many Hearties may agree with Jack, the show's record-breaking ratings are proof that Abigail's exit didn't take away from Hope Valley's shine.

Still, there's a chance that Lori's days on WCTH aren't completely over. "Some of the fans have asked what will happen to Abigail’s character, and shared their opinion that Hope Valley should be an example of forgiveness and grace. As Lori’s friend, I could not agree more," the show's executive producer Brian Bird told From the Desk. That means we might see Abigail and Elizabeth (a.k.a. Lori and Erin) reunite onscreen. In the meantime, we'll just have to keep a lookout for more offscreen moments on Erin's Instagram (since Lori's account is still deactivated).

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