Actor John Stamos Gets Personal About His Sobriety

Most households in America know John Stamos as Uncle Jesse—the Elvis-loving, hair-obsessed character from Full House. As Full House made its debut in 1987, Stamos found stardom for the first time, particularly as the show hit its stride in the early ‘90s.

Although he found great personal success, Stamos struggled with alcohol addiction, to the point of receiving a DUI in 2015. At that time, Stamos was just a year away from starring on the Full House reboot, Fuller House, and it would be his former costar, Jodie Sweetin, who would help him find his way to sobriety.

Sweetin, who dealt with her own personal struggles with addiction, has been sober for several years. In 2019, she was honored at the Writers in Treatment awards for her 2009 memoir, UnSweetind, where she described the intensity of her addictions to crystal meth and alcohol. Stamos presented her with the award, and shared his gratitude for her help in confronting his own addictions.

Speaking to the audience, he said, “I hit rock bottom. Jodie lovingly allowed me to walk my own path and when I finally humbled myself to ask for your help, I realized that the perky little blabbermouth had become the master of wisdom and was right by my side during some of the most difficult days of my life.”

Of course, the “perky little blabbermouth” he referred to was Sweetin’s Full House character, Stephanie Tanner, who was the niece to Stamos’ “Uncle Jesse.” Now 57 and 39, respectively, Stamos and Sweetin learned that they had more in common than they thought.

Stamos entered rehab shortly after receiving the DUI, which earned him three years of probation. In addition to quitting alcohol, Stamos also stopped taking sleeping pills and antidepressants during his stay in rehab.

In an interview with Howard Stern in 2016, Stamos reflected on the events that might have worsened his alcohol dependence, including his father’s death, his divorce, and later, his mother’s death in 2014.

“It sent me sort of down a wrong path,” he told Stern, before remarking on the progress he made to get—and stay—sober.

Thanking an Old Friend for Her Help

As they geared up to star in the Netflix reboot of Full House, Sweetin arranged for Stamos to have access to 12-step meetings on set, which was particularly helpful to Stamos as he found his footing in early sobriety.

“Thank god, my wife and my new son will only know me as a sober husband and father. This is Jodie’s legacy in my life,” he concluded in his speech to Sweetin.

Stamos, who was formerly married to Rebecca Romijn, had been single for some time before meeting and marrying model and actress Caitlin McHugh in 2017. The two share a son, and as Stamos stated to Sweetin, getting sober made all the difference as he moved forward in building his new life.

On a more recent interview with Howard Stern, Stamos said that his sobriety helped him in deciding to settle down.

“The sobriety helped. My mind got very clear,” he said.

With his mind clear, he was able to be more present in a serious relationship—and as a father to his son, Billy, who was born in 2018.

Now set to star in an upcoming show in Disney+, Stamos is thriving in sobriety, and has many people in his life—Sweetin chief among them—to thank for his success on this new path.

In an Instagram tribute to Sweetin at the time of her award, Stamos wrote, “You give so many people HOPE.”

As he continues in sobriety, we are sure many people could say the same of Stamos himself.