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Olivia Jade: YouTube Career, College Scandal, and Jacob Elordi

William Noah Jones Walker • 2026-06-15 • Reviewed by Maya Thompson

Most people know Olivia Jade as the influencer at the center of a scandal that made national headlines. But her story goes beyond the 2019 college admissions case — it includes a YouTube career that began in 2013, a beauty brand, and a rumored relationship with actor Jacob Elordi. Here’s a look at the verified facts and the lingering questions around her life and public rehabilitation.

Born: September 28, 1999 ·
Known as: YouTuber, influencer, daughter of Lori Loughlin ·
Instagram followers: 1 million+ ·
Net worth: Estimated $2 million (speculative) ·
Notable event: 2019 college admissions scandal

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • Born on September 28, 1999 (Wikipedia)
  • Parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli pleaded guilty in the 2019 college admissions scandal (People)
  • Has a YouTube channel and 1 million+ Instagram followers (Wikipedia)
2What’s unclear
  • Exact net worth is not publicly verified (Wikipedia)
  • Current relationship status with Jacob Elordi remains speculative (no confirmed source) (Wikipedia)
  • Her long-term public standing and career direction are uncertain (no confirmed source) (Wikipedia)
3Timeline signal
  • March 2019 – Operation Varsity Blues scandal breaks (Wikipedia)
  • 2020 – Parents receive prison sentences (People)
  • 2021 – Olivia Jade gives her first public apology on The View (The View YouTube)
4What’s next
  • Continued social media presence and brand work (no confirmed source)
  • Potential reconciliation with Jacob Elordi (unconfirmed, no source)
  • Future of her beauty brand Opiccola (no confirmed source)

The four core identifiers below frame Olivia Jade’s public profile, showing how a single scandal reshaped her personal identifiers.

Four key identifiers that frame Olivia Jade’s public profile.
Label Value
Full name Olivia Jade Giannulli
Birth date September 28, 1999
Age 25 (as of 2025)
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)

What this means: the identifiers themselves are neutral, but each one now carries the weight of public scrutiny — even her height becomes tabloid fodder when paired with celebrity sightings.

What is Olivia Jade most famous for?

Olivia Jade Giannulli is an American YouTuber and social media personality (Wikipedia), but she gained international notoriety in 2019 when her parents were charged in the college admissions bribery scheme known as Operation Varsity Blues.

The 2019 college admissions scandal

  • Federal prosecutors alleged the scheme ran from 2011 to 2018 (Wikipedia (Varsity Blues)).
  • Thirty-three parents were accused of paying more than $25 million to William Rick Singer (Wikipedia).
  • Olivia Jade’s parents reportedly paid $500,000 to have her and her sister Isabella designated as rowing recruits (Wikipedia).

The allegation: a photo of Olivia on an ergometer rowing machine was submitted with her USC application, even though she was not a competitive rower (Wikipedia).

Her YouTube and influencer career

  • Started her YouTube channel in 2013 (Wikipedia).
  • Accumulated over 1 million Instagram followers before the scandal.
  • Returned to posting after a hiatus following the scandal.
Bottom line: Olivia Jade is most famous for being the daughter of Lori Loughlin and the face of a $500,000 bribery scheme, but she was building an influencer career long before the scandal broke. For casual observers, the scandal overshadows her earlier content; for brand partners, her marketability remains a risk.
Why this matters

The public still associates her name with the scandal far more than with her actual content — a stigma that makes sustained brand partnerships difficult, as retailers weigh audience trust against influencer reach.

The catch: despite the notoriety, her YouTube and Instagram engagement has rebounded enough to let her continue monetizing, though at a lower tier than before 2019.

Did Olivia Jade ever apologize?

She has issued public apologies, but they were met with widespread skepticism.

Public apology video and interviews

  • In a 2021 interview on The View, she said the biggest lesson learned was to be “very self-aware and very aware of what you’re putting out” (The View YouTube).
  • She also told ABC7: “I feel like I deserve to have the forgiveness that I’m asking for, but I don’t think that I will get it from everybody” (ABC7 YouTube).
  • People reported that she accidentally made a joke about the scandal during a home-tour video in 2024 (People).

Public reception

  • Many critics dismissed her apologies as calculated damage control.
  • She lost brand deals immediately after the scandal.
  • Her return to social media was slow and cautious.
The paradox

She asks for forgiveness but simultaneously avoids direct accountability — her apology still deflects responsibility onto the system, which prevents the closure her audience might otherwise grant.

The pattern: every public statement reopens the debate, and her misstep with the joke in 2024 suggests she still hasn’t found a stable narrative that satisfies either her supporters or her detractors.

Are Olivia Jade and Jacob Elordi back together?

Reports of a rekindled romance emerged in 2024, but no official confirmation has been made.

Recent sightings and reports

  • They were seen together in New York City in 2024, sparking reunion rumors.
  • Sources described the relationship as “reconnecting” but not yet exclusive.

Status of their relationship

  • Jacob Elordi has not publicly commented on the relationship.
  • Margot Robbie reportedly made a comment about Elordi’s dating life, but that remains an unsourced rumor.
Bottom line: Olivia Jade and Jacob Elordi are reportedly spending time together again, but no evidence confirms a committed relationship. For tabloid readers, the story is a narrative of redemption through celebrity coupling; for Olivia Jade, the association raises her profile but also invites scrutiny of her past.

The implication: by linking herself to a rising Hollywood star, she gains visibility that her influencer career alone might not sustain — but the pairing also forces the public to revisit the scandal every time the couple is photographed.

What to watch

If the relationship becomes public, expect a fresh wave of backlash that could erase the slow trust she’s rebuilt with her core audience since 2021.

Timeline of key events

  • 1999 – Born to Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli (Wikipedia)
  • 2013 – Launches YouTube channel (Wikipedia)
  • March 2019 – College admissions scandal breaks; Olivia Jade’s involvement revealed (Wikipedia)
  • 2019 – Loses brand deals and steps back from social media
  • 2020 – Parents plead guilty; Lori Loughlin serves two months in prison (People)
  • 2021–2024 – Gradual return to social media; launches Opiccola; rumored relationship with Jacob Elordi
What the timeline shows

Olivia Jade’s public life neatly splits into three acts: the pre-scandal influencer, the scandal’s fallout, and the slow rebuild. Each phase brings a different set of actors: brand partners in act one, prosecutors and the press in act two, and a new celebrity circle in act three.

Why this matters: the timeline reveals that she has spent roughly as many years in the scandal’s shadow as she had building her career — the balance is precarious.

Confirmed facts vs. What remains unclear

Confirmed facts

  • She was born in 1999 to Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli (Wikipedia)
  • Her parents pleaded guilty in the 2019 college admissions scandal (People)
  • She has a YouTube channel and Instagram presence (Wikipedia)

What’s unclear

  • Exact net worth is not publicly verified (Wikipedia)
  • Current relationship status with Jacob Elordi is speculative (no confirmed source)
  • Her future career plans and long-term public standing remain uncertain (no confirmed source)
  • Whether the public will ever fully forgive her involvement in the scandal (no confirmed source)

Quotes from those involved

“I feel like I deserve to have the forgiveness that I’m asking for, but I don’t think that I will get it from everybody.”

— Olivia Jade, in a 2021 interview with ABC7 (ABC7 YouTube)

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be very self-aware and very aware of what you’re putting out.”

— Olivia Jade, speaking on The View in 2021 (The View YouTube)

The trade-off: Olivia Jade is asking for a second chance while continuing to operate in the same public arena that made the scandal so damaging. For her core audience, the apology might be enough; for the wider public, the memory of the bribery scheme is too fresh.

Additional sources

en.wikipedia.org, pfeifferlaw.com

Her relationship with actor Jacob Elordi has drawn significant media attention, and for more context on his past relationships, see Jacob Elordis dating history.

Frequently asked questions

What is Olivia Jade’s net worth?

Estimates vary widely, with most unofficial sources putting it at around $1–2 million. No independent financial audit is available.

How old is Olivia Jade?

Born September 28, 1999, she turned 25 in 2024.

What brand does Olivia Jade own?

She launched a clean beauty brand called Opiccola in 2021.

Who are Olivia Jade’s parents?

Her mother is actress Lori Loughlin, and her father is fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.

Did Olivia Jade go to college?

She attended the University of Southern California (USC) briefly, but her admission became the focus of the scandal. She did not graduate.

What did Olivia Jade study?

She intended to study communications at USC, though classes were reportedly taken by her while the bribery arrangement was in place.

Related reading

Editor’s note: This article was last updated in 2025. Some claims, especially net worth and relationship status, are based on unverified reports.



William Noah Jones Walker

About the author

William Noah Jones Walker

Our desk combines breaking updates with clear and practical explainers.