Full House star John Stamos says he’s happy he waited until his 50s to become a father
The actor also opens up about the tragic loss of his best friend and co-star, Bob Saget.
Best known for playing the beloved Uncle Jesse on Full House, John Stamos has opened up about becoming a father in his 50s and how the timing has been just right.
John Stamos first rose to fame on General Hospital before starring alongside Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on Full House from 1987-1995.
John, who turns 59 on August 19 this year, was previously married to X-Men actress Rebecca Romjin from 1998 until 2005. While the couple had no children together, John says becoming a father was always something he wanted in his future.
In 2018, John wed model and actress Caitlin McHugh and the pair welcomed Billy that same year.
John with his wife, Caitlin and four-year-old son, Billy.
Becoming sober before meeting Caitlin, John says his wife helped him to “straighten out his life” and admits that any earlier and he “would not have been mature enough” to be the father he is today.
“I wasn’t deserving of it yet I think. But six years ago, I sobered up and I became a better person. And when Caitlin came around, I recognised it immediately. I said, ‘I have to be good for that to make it work.
“I’m very grateful to the gods or to the universe or whatever that I’m an older father,” he said.
“I am so grateful that I’m settled, and I’m cool and I’m sober and I’m happy with myself.”
“I’m very grateful to the gods or to the universe or whatever that I’m an older father.”
Speaking to Us in February, 2021, the Full House star spoke about his desire to become a dad and how parenthood isn’t easy.
“I’ve been around kids my whole life, and I always wanted kids, and I thought I really knew kids. I thought I knew about being a parent,” he said.
“It’s so much harder than I thought to be a good parent. I can see why there’s so many messed-up people in this world because even if you do everything right, good luck. But it just takes so much time and so much patience and so much common sense.”
John says he and Caitilin would love to expand their brood one day.
“We’re at a place in our life where we should have eight kids,” he said, adding they would probably settle for just one more. “We want to. We should.”
John’s current gig is voicing Iron Man aka Tony Stark in the second season of Disney’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends now streaming on Disney+ and it’s a role that has the seal of approval from his son.
“I’ve been trying to get Billy to think I was cool since he was two months old,” he said.
“Now he thinks I’m cool. Now he runs around telling everyone, ‘My dad’s going to be on Spidey!’
“My dad was the greatest superhero to me. He never became human. He was always the coolest guy. He was always bigger than life to me. Now, the universe is saying to me, ‘It’s your turn’.”
Billy is named after John’s father who passed away in 2001. Another loss that John hard hit hard, was the death of his best friend and Full House co-star Bob Saget in January, 2022.
In an emotional euology shared at the memorial service, John said: “Bob loved with everything he had,” adding, “Billy will grow up with that depth of love for the rest of his life.”
“I pray that Billy will someday have a friend like I had in Bob,” he shared, noting that after he learned of Saget’s death, “I grabbed Billy, held on to him as tight as I could and told him how much I loved him. We don’t do justice to Bob’s legacy without remembering to hold those we love as close as we can and telling them what we feel about them every day.”
