John Stamos’ time on Full House was life-changing on so many levels. Even though he didn’t get off to the best start with then-infants Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, John reveals in his memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, that the adorable twins soon captured his heart.
As the show continued, John explains how he began “spending more off-camera time with Mary-Kate and Ashley. I adore them, and they adore me. Writers start developing more Jesse and Michelle stories, which become a highlight of the show. We have it down to a science; Mary-Kate is stronger in the emotional scenes, Ashley scores in the comedic ones.”
While working alongside the Olsen twins and watching them grow up, John knew that he wanted to be a father someday. “I’m young, but I want kids someday, and these lovely little girls, so bouncy and bright, represent the best versions of future dreams,” he writes. “They allow me to consider fatherhood like a benched baseball catcher in a dugout, watching from afar without having to catch any curveballs.”
He continues, “I take them to Disneyland, I adore them, give ’em kisses on the tops of their heads, buy them a few crappy souvenirs, and then hand them back to their parents to do the hard work. Their little sister, Lizzy [Olsen], comes to visit them on the set, and she quickly becomes my new favorite Olsen.”
Years after the show ended, John recalls reuniting with the Olsen twins while he was performing in a revival of Cabaret. “It’s pretty weird having adult Michelles sitting there in stereo watching me play someone so different from their beloved Uncle Jesse, but they get it. We share a mutual pride for how far we’ve all come,” he writes.
Full House ran on ABC from 1987 to 1995. After the show’s original run, the cast remained close as they navigated new chapters in their careers. When the revival Fuller House premiered in 2016, Mary-Kate and Ashley notably did not return. If You Would Have Told Me is available now.
