Felicity Huffman faces federal charges for allegedly participating in a scheme to help her 18-year-old daughter Sofia Grace get into college
Before Felicity Huffman faced fraud charges for allegedly participating in a college cheating scheme, her husband William H. Macy spoke out about how lying is “never” worth it in the long run.
In a February interview with Men’s Journal, the Shameless star, 69, said that the best advice he’d ever received was to “never lie.”
“It’s the cheapest way to go. Lies cost you a lot, and they’re never worth what they cost,” he said.
Macy, who has publicly stood by his wife’s side during her court dates this week, went on to share his philosophy on how to handle regret.
“Like the flu — you let it run its course,” he remarked.
Prior to being indicted, Huffman also posted a blog post on her now-deleted parenting site What the Flicka?, warning against lying.
The post — which was not written by Huffman — featured a list of tips for moms and jokingly addressed teens about lying to their parents. “You think you’re so smart and sneaky and while you probably will get away with it a couple of times — maybe even more times than not — at some point you’re going to get cold-hard busted,” the post read.
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During the interview, Macy went on to effusively praise Huffman, specifically celebrating her parenting skills.
“I married very, very well. It’s great fun for me to watch Felicity. I love the way she mothers our daughters,” he said. “And her career — I find myself getting lazy and slowing down and losing my drive. My wife is doubling down.”
As for the secret to their marriage, Macy said it all boiled down to communication.
“Sooner or later you’re going to have to talk about it. My wife likes to talk, but I’m not a fan of talking because talking leads to communication, and from there it’s a slippery slope to feelings, and then the next thing you know, you’re living in your life. Nobody wants that,” he said, joking about the benefits of communication.
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Huffman, 56, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly participating in a scheme to help her 18-year-old daughter Sofia get into college. Huffman was charged by federal prosecutors with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Three days after she was released on a $250,000 bond, Macy and Huffman were seen making their way back to a Los Angeles courthouse together on Friday.
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Huffman and fellow actress Lori Loughlin, along with Loughlin’s husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were among 50 people named in an alleged conspiracy to defraud and undermine competitive student admissions at elite colleges and universities including Yale, Georgetown, the University of Southern California and Stanford, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Macy was not indicted.
The Shameless star is instead identified only as “her spouse” in the indictment alleging that Huffman engaged in a scheme to donate $15,000 to a company in exchange for its help to fraudulently boost their daughter’s SAT scores, according to the document obtained by PEOPLE.
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Authorities and the charging document allege that Huffman and Macy aligned with William Singer, a “cooperating witness” in the investigation who runs a college preparatory business and started the Key Worldwide Foundation that accepted the couple’s $15,000 donation.
Singer, who has pleaded guilty to his role in the scandal, met with the couple in their Los Angeles home and allegedly told them a proctor could boost their daughter’s SAT results by secretly correcting any incorrect test answers.
According to the indictment, Singer “advised investigators that Huffman and her spouse agreed to the plan.”
Compared to the results of the daughter’s earlier Preliminary SAT exam completed without any suggestion of cheating, the indictment states, “Ultimately, Huffman’s daughter received a score of 1420 on the SAT, an improvement of approximately 400 points over her PSAT, taken without CW-2 one year earlier.”
PEOPLE was unable to reach a representative for Huffman and Macy.
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Huffman’s next preliminary court hearing is scheduled for March 29 at a Boston court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On Friday, Huffman deleted her Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as her parenting site. Before her arrest, Huffman shared a photo of Macy and their daughter visiting college campuses on December 13, 2017.