Former child star Jodie Sweetin, best known for playing Stephanie Tanner on the beloved sitcom Full House, has opened up about the moment her relationship with alcohol began and how it spiraled into addiction during a recent podcast appearance.
The Wedding That Changed Everything
During an interview on The Skinny Confidential's Him & Her podcast on November 20, Sweetin revealed that her first experience with alcohol occurred at co-star Candace Cameron Bure's wedding when she was just 13 or 14 years old. The wedding took place approximately one year after Full House ended its original run from 1987 to 1995.
"Well, the first time I ever drank, I was like, 14, 13... and it was at Candace's wedding and I was just a blackout drinker," Sweetin confessed. "The last thing I remember doing, I think, is somewhere around the M of a 'YMCA,' and then I don't remember anything from the rest of the night."
The actress described the experience as "awful and ugly" and recalled feeling deeply embarrassed afterward. "My mother was horrified," she added, noting that she consumed significant amounts of red wine despite being across the room from her mother during the reception.
Early Recognition of Problematic Behavior
Despite feeling terrible the following day, Sweetin explained that something significant "clicked" within her, transforming her embarrassment into a sense of euphoria. "I was like, 'Oh, that was fun. You didn't give a shit about anything. You just don't remember it,'" she stated.
By age 15 or 16, Sweetin recognized that her drinking habits differed dramatically from her peers. "I knew that I drank and partied in ways that my friends did not," she recalled. "And that they were like 'What, bro? Settle down.'" This realization led her to seek out different social circles where her behavior wouldn't be judged.
The actress emphasized that she never approached alcohol moderately. "I was not a person who was like 'Oh, let's just sip wine with dinner,'" Sweetin explained. "I was like, 'If we ain't doin' a bottle, what's the point?' I always knew that my goal was like, blackout drinking or just getting as wasted as possible."
A Turning Point Toward Recovery
Sweetin's addiction struggles continued into her mid-20s, reaching a point where she doubted she would survive. "I did not think I would probably see my 30th birthday, the way I was going in my like mid-20s, like 24, 25," she revealed.
The turning point came when she got married and discovered she was pregnant. "Everything changed. It was up and down, it wasn't perfect," Sweetin acknowledged. "I haven't had a perfect journey, but that really was the thing that changed everything that was like, 'Oh, OK. Party time's done. I gotta take care of somebody else.'"
Sweetin has been transparent about her addiction recovery journey in recent years, using her platform to raise awareness about substance abuse issues, particularly those affecting former child actors navigating adulthood.
