Candace Cameron Bure shares why filming a ‘Full House’ episode about D.J.’s weight felt ‘awkward’
Candace Cameron Bure’s recent confession has us saying, “Oh My Lanta!”
The 48-year-old recalled one episode that got under her skin while filming the beloved sitcom “Full House,” in which she starred for eight seasons as D.J. Tanner.
On the “Pod Meets World” podcast episode from Aug. 11, co-host Danielle Fishel, from the ‘90s sitcom “Boy Meets World,” asked Candace if she ever had an episode written about her weight.
The “Ainsley McGregor Mysteries” star shared that she did.
Candace recounted an episode in Season 4 titled “Shape Up,” which aired in 1990.
“I had that episode where Kimmy [Andrea Barber] and I were going to a pool party, and I didn’t want to put a bathing suit on,” she detailed, “so I did a crash diet to try to lose weight in a week so I wouldn’t feel bad about myself in a bathing suit. And then passed out at the gym because I wasn’t eating and working out.”
The “Candace Cameron Bure Podcast” host added, “Those are things that many of us struggle with, but you know, you play it out on television, and sometimes it’s like, ‘Okay.’”
However, the producers consulted Candace and her parents about the episode’s content to ensure she was comfortable shooting it.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ But when you’re in it and doing it, it feels a little awkward,” Candace explained.
“We had wonderful producers who I really did love. They asked my parents first, and then they asked me,” she continued. “They did ask, ‘How would you feel having an episode about getting your period and I was like, ‘No! No!’ And they went, ‘Okay,’ and they didn’t push it.”
Meanwhile, in the season after, the “Fuller House” alum lost significant weight, something the series’ producers wanted to highlight.
“I had lost 20 pounds from the end of one season to another,” Candace said. “I came in losing 20 pounds, and they thought it was so great, and they were like, ‘Oh, in the opening titles, why don’t we have you on an exercise bike to promote that.’ And looking back, I don’t think that was bad. I really put a lot of hard work and effort into losing 20 pounds.”
Growing up in the limelight wasn’t always easy for Candace.
“I was always the chubby-cheeked girl, and a lot of people loved that I was,” she shared. “And I can look back and go like, I was just a normal, average girl. And yet you meet people, and they’re always like, ‘You’re so much thinner in person.’ And you’re just like, ‘Is that all people see? Do they just see my chubby cheeks?’”
Something that the “Kind Is the New Classy” author knows all too well can affect a young girl’s mindset.
“Of course, as a teenager, you feel that insecurity whether you’re on television or not,” Candace pointed out. “It gets magnified when you are, so those ages were a little bit more awkward for me.”
If she could go back, she would give her younger self one piece of sound advice: “I just want to hug 15-year-old Candace and go, ‘It’s okay don’t listen to anyone.’”
Noting that the “Pod Meets World” hosts, including Rider Strong and Will Friedle, were also in front of the camera at a young age, the actress admitted, “It is weird growing up in front of a camera going through puberty on national television.”
“For better or for worse,” confessed Candace. “There’s really wonderful things, being able to be on a television show and be successful and stuff like that. But it’s just bizarre when everyone sees your first zit. Your boobs coming in —whatever. It’s weird.”
As for which season was the most difficult for the Great American Family’s Chief Content Officer?
“Probably right around 15, 16 because that’s when girls really change. When you’re going through puberty, for me. 15, 16 and then having episodes talk about your weight,” Candace said.
Following “Full House” wrapping in 1995, the sitcom star developed an eating disorder after she moved to Montreal to support her husband Valeri Bure’s hockey career.
Candace has been vocal about how her relationship with food shifted during that time due to feeling lonely and isolated. After getting help, the “No One Would Tell” alum developed healthier eating patterns.
“It’s been an ongoing journey for me,” Candace told Fox News Digital in 2020. “My relationship with food and my relationship with fitness… I’ve been very public about an eating disorder that I had in my early 20s. And it’s something I still think about in terms of making good choices for myself to stay on the right track. And so I think the biggest key for me that was like a lightbulb moment was just understanding and listening to my body, and ultimately realizing how much better I feel when I make good choices.”
Now, 29 years after “Full House” ended, the sitcom star has implemented a healthy fitness routine into her everyday life.
“I love health and wellness,” Candace told Fox News in July. “Just remember I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m not a professional athlete or coach. I’m just a person who loves all of it and really just loves to soak up information from people that I admire that are really intelligent in that space and know exactly what they’re talking about.”