In a recent interview, Jodie Sweetin, best known for her role in “Full House,” openly reflected on her initial encounter with alcohol, sharing insights into a pivotal moment from her past.
At 43, Sweetin is eager to emphasize that she is more than the sensational stories often associated with her. Her first brush with alcohol occurred when she was just 14, during the wedding of her co-star Candace Cameron Bure.
‘Well, the first time I ever drank, I was like 14 … and it was at Candace’s wedding, and I was just a blackout drinker,’ she admitted on Skinny Confidential podcast.
Sweetin recounted the experience as deeply unpleasant, describing it as “awful,” “ugly,” and “embarrassing.” Her mother, who was present at the event, was particularly shocked by her behavior.
She vividly remembered sitting at the table, separated by some distance from her mother, and taking advantage of the opportunity to drink. As the servers went around refilling glasses, Sweetin would eagerly request a bit more each time.
Despite waking up the following day feeling mortified and unwell, this incident marked a significant realization for her. Sweetin noted that something shifted within her, foreshadowing challenges she would later face.
Jodie Sweetin looked back on her first experience with alcohol in a candid new interview
The 43-year-old former child star said the first time she consumed an alcoholic beverage was when she attended Candace Cameron Bure’s wedding at age 14; The actresses pictured in 2018
The actress said that despite being ‘horrified the next day’ and feeling ‘awful,’ something ‘clicked’ for her.
‘I was like, “Ooh, that was fun,”‘ she remembered, noting that it marked the start of years of a party lifestyle.
Jodie went on to share: ‘I’d say around 15, 16, I knew that I drank and partied in a way that my friends did not, and they were like, “What, bro? Settle down.”
‘I would be like, “Okay, well, now I’ve got to go find somebody that I can do these drugs with.” Or, you know, it was like finding different people that didn’t make you feel so bad about what you were doing.’
Jodie also opened up about her struggles with drug addiction over the summer while appearing on Kaitlyn Lowry’s podcast, Barely Famous.
The LA-born star is best known for starring as Stephanie Tanner in the ABC sitcom Full House from 1987 to 1995, and its Netflix reboot series Fuller House.
After Full House went off the air, she turned to alcohol as an antidote to boredom and loneliness.
She later found herself abusing cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy.
Cameron pictured with husband Valeri Bure on their wedding day in 1996
Sweetin (second to left) is best known for playing Stephanie Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House from 1987 to 1995
Jodie noted that despite the fact that millions of people battle addiction, it was more ‘sensational’ because she was famous.
‘I always say, I would have struggled with addiction issues regardless of being on TV or not,’ she added.
‘And to be fair, that gave me some of the ability to be able to find treatment and find help in ways that I might not have had I not worked as a child. But it’s very hard [when] you have to make all your mistakes publicly,’ she lamented.
Her road to sobriety wasn’t an easy one and she relapsed before getting sober for good.
‘I had gone to treatment in my 20s, and then I had kids, and then I got sober, and then I drank again and then I got sober,’ she explained.
She added, ‘It’s been up and down, but it’s been 16 years since I’ve drank alcohol and 13 years since I relapsed on meds with a car accident that I was in.’
