The loss of a beloved co-star. Endless attacks from vicious internet trolls.
A go-kart outing that led to a hand injury. Here are just a few tragic details you might not know
about Full House star Candace Cameron Bure. Candace Cameron Bure won the hearts of America,
starring as big sis D.J. on "Full House." But while she was beloved by fans, she was
apparently bullied by her classmates because of her child star status. As Do You Remember noted,
"Reasons for this included her looks and her fame; she recalled being shoved and verbally
taunted for being on the show, complete with references to her character of D.J."
"It is a different kind of world and you can kind of get messed up in some things."
Eventually, school became too much to deal with, and Bure enlisted an on-set tutor.
But the bullying continued with even viewers of the show
commenting on Bure's weight. As she recalled to Yahoo Entertainment,
"Even as a child, like, 'Wow, you're a lot smaller in person than you look on TV.
You're so chubby on TV.' It makes you perceive yourself in a way that
you didn't even think you were, because other people keep speaking that into you."
Even as an adult, Bure continued to face criticism for her looks. In 2018, when she
posted a shot with her son, a commenter remarked on her larger size compared to whom they thought
was her husband. But Bure appears to be over the body shaming these days, clapping back by writing:
"If a 25 inch waist looks big to you [...] then you're looking through an altered lens."
"I wanna look like these models."
"Why?"
"Because they're beautiful."
When her "Full House" days came to an end, Bure found herself struggling with her identity — as
well as an eating disorder. But she doesn't blame the show, telling Good Housekeeping,
"There wasn't a big focus on image and beauty from producers. I never had people
around me telling me that I had to look a certain way or be a certain weight."
Instead, it was right after getting married, when Bure moved to Montreal where she didn't
know anyone and wasn't working as much, that her issues with eating began. She told the outlet,
"I got into a cycle of binge eating and feeling such guilt and shame for that, then I would
start purging. [...] It soon just took over to a point where you feel such a loss of control."
"I knew I was — I had a problem when I couldn't just say, 'I don't want to do this anymore.'"
Eventually, her body couldn't take the punishment. Claiming that reaching
out to her pastor helped her identify and confront her emotional issues, she shared with Your Teen,
"Finally, I went to God for my comfort and not food. In light of my experience,
I am very aware of how much I talk about my weight or scrutinize myself
in front of my teenage daughter. […] As a parent I try to stress the importance of
being healthy by exercising and making good choices with food."
"DJ, we're still a family. And now is when we really need to stick together."
Bure was devastated over the tragic death of Bob Saget — her "Full House"
TV-dad and close friend — on January 9, 2022. A heartbroken Bure took to Instagram to post,
"I love you sooooo much. I don't want to say goodbye."
Days later she shared just how much their friendship meant to her, writing,
"We've always been so deeply connected since the day we met when I was 10 years old.
You weren't just like a father, but one of my closest friends in life.
This hurts like nothing I've ever felt before."
"Am I the raddest, baddest dad a kid ever had?"
"You were until you said that."
Sadly, Bure also expressed regret over their last text exchange. As she recalled with Today,
they had planned to have dinner, but when Bob missed his flight,
they had a little fight instead. Still, he quickly apologized and said he loved her.
"He said at the end, 'I love you more for the trouble you're giving me,
if that's even possible.'"
While Saget's passing doesn't cause Bure to question her faith,
the actor admitted to Us Weekly,
"Of course, I'm gonna have a lot of questions when I get to talk to God face-to-face one day."
Like most celebrities online, Bure is seemingly always under attack from social media trolls
for just basically living her life. In January 2021, people took issue with a
family holiday photo Bure posted to Instagram, judging her kids for their model-like poses.
And again that year, when she posted another family pic at a wedding,
users criticized Bure and her daughter for wearing red,
and her husband and son for not wearing socks. The actor may have clapped back a few times,
but for the most part, she ignores the haters. As she explained it to Life & Style,
"I just don't focus on it. There's always going to be someone,
and you're not going to please everyone."
"I'm really performing for an audience of one. And that's for God."
It's no secret that Bure is devoted to her Christian faith.
As she once told The Washington Post,
"I'm not going to be shy about it [...] and if for some reason, Hollywood doesn't accept me,
I'm okay with that because my faith is more important than my career."
But her spirituality was put to the test when she came under fire for writing in her memoir,
"Balancing It All," that she takes on a, quote,
"more submissive role" in her marriage. She later clarified to HuffPost Live,
"The definition I'm using with the word 'submissive' is the biblical definition of that.
So, it is meekness, it is not weakness. It is strength under control, it is bridled strength."
Bure's faith also influenced her stint on "Dancing With the Stars." She wanted to tone
down the raunchiness of her rumba, claiming some things are just for her hubby, adding,
"My life revolves around my relationship with Jesus Christ,
so with the overall tone of the dance or the costumes, I'm not going to take a backseat."
On the flip side, Bure has also been criticized by
conservative Christians for proudly celebrating her sexuality. In 2020,
after a snap of her hubby grabbing her breast hit Instagram, she declared to The Washington Post,
"Once you get married, I think that there are many Christians that get it wrong. […] They
feel like you have to pretend like you’re not having sex or you’re not enjoying your sex life,
which is just completely wrong." Bure suffered a serious injury in
2018 when she was involved in a go-karting accident. At the time,
she was enjoying a family outing with her sisters and brother, "Growing Pains"
star Kirk Cameron. As she explained in a hospital bed Instagram video from the E.R.:
"I got into a go-karting accident, and my brother ran me over.
I'm waiting to see if I broke my hand."
Bure later revealed that she also bruised her shoulder. But
the worst part was removing her wedding rings from her swollen hand. She said,
"They got my rings off and that was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced."
After she was released from the ER, the actor updated fans with her diagnosis,
revealing that she was a little beaten up, but that nothing was broken.
And like a good older brother, Kirk eventually confessed:
"I'm the culprit. I'm the crazy driver. [...] It was my fault completely,
I tried to cut her off and take the lead, bad."
Having stepped in to fill the so-called "conservative" seat from 2015 to 2016,
Bure claims she experienced PTSD from co-hosting "The View." As she revealed on "Behind the Table,"
"The stress and the anxiety... There was only one type of stress that I've ever felt in my life,
that came from that show. […] I have PTSD. It was so difficult,
and to manage that emotional stress was very, very hard."
"I was in my closet with the door shut, curled in a ball, crying and praying."
Bure said she cried every day in her dressing room
and had a hard time keeping up with the demanding schedule. She recalled,
"Doing 4-5 hours of homework a night, it was exhausting. Along with that, I was traveling
back and forth from Los Angeles to New York every week to be with my family on the weekends."
What made matters worse was that as the sole conservative voice of the show,
she felt the pressure to stick up for an entire community of people. Since leaving her post,
Bure claims she has no regrets. But as she told People magazine,
"It was one of the toughest jobs I've held. [...] I'd
never want a permanent seat at the table again."
Bure has been open about her struggles with her mental health. But the mom of
three manages her depression by moving her body. She explained to The Salvation Army,
"I need to keep my mental health clear. Just sweating that out and all those
endorphins really help me a lot. I notice a huge difference when I don't exercise,
how much it can affect me mentally and kind of deal with depression."
These days though, Bure may face new challenges with her kids growing up and leaving home. In
2021, the star shared on Instagram that she cried when she dropped her youngest off at the airport,
as he flew off to college. She said in her Instagram Stories,
"I had to just drop him off at LAX, and I'm getting no sympathy from someone."
But despite her sadness, in true Bure form, she found the bright side of the situation.
"We started thinkin', like, 'Huh! What are we gonna do, just you and me?'"
As she shared with Parade,
"I am looking forward to fun with friends, new adventures with my family. I'm really
excited to add an office to my house by using one of my children's bedrooms!"
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line
by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness
helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.