When Julie McCullough left “Growing Pains,” it wasn’t a matter of choice. She didn’t want to end her time on the 1980s show, but her past work ended up being a problem for one member of the cast. That was enough to see her time on the series cut short.
McCullough went on “The Patrick Labyorsheaux” podcast in August 2026 to talk about the event. It was something she didn’t make public at the time, and while it was a huge shock to the system, she did end with something positive. Her friends were there for her.
How Julie McCullough Found Out She Was Fired From ‘Growing Pains’
There were plenty of questions about why McCullough’s character, Julie Costello, would suddenly leave Mike at the altar. That was the story “Growing Pains” came up with, but it wasn’t something McCullough went into the series expecting.
During the 1980s, Julie was the girlfriend-turned-fiancée of Mike, played by Kirk Cameron. She was on the ABC sitcom for two seasons, and it looked like there were plans to add more for their relationship. In fact, McCullough turned up to set on the day that they were supposed to film the wedding, shortly after a break in production. That was when she got the shocking news, and it wasn’t from a person.
As she walked in, she noticed that the set that housed the apartment her character lived in was being broken down. Maybe there was an explanation for that, considering her character was marrying Mike, but then she saw the script, and she was floored.
Right before the table read, she learned that she was being written off the show. There wasn’t even a mention to her managers before she even got there, making it a cold turn of events.
Why Was Julie McCullough Fired From ‘Growing Pains’?
GettyWhat was the reason? It all boils down to religion and her past work. During the 1988 Christmas break, Cameron became a born-again Christian. At the same time, he found out that she had done photos for the 1986 Playboy Playmate of the Month, and those resurfaced. As soon as they returned from that break, Cameron started to distance himself from McCullough, and then she was fired as the filming of “Growing Pains” Season 5 started.
She shared, “And it was like he it’s like he wouldn’t talk to me. Like, he wouldn’t talk to anybody, and it was just completely a different person, you know?”
It’s not even like her Playboy period was a secret. She had made sure that production knew about the photoshoot. This was something that would come up in conversation, so nobody could claim that it was a “surprise.”
Her decision to do the photos isn’t something that she regrets, but at the time, she was “heartbroken” at the way she was written off the show. She didn’t lash out in anger, though. Instead, she walked away gracefully. She did turn to her friends and family about the situation, sharing her love for them. “I have good friends and good family,” she pointed out to Hollywood Chicago.
In the end, Julie left Mike at the altar, and it received backlash from fans of “Growing Pains.” They couldn’t understand the decision, as it was such a sudden break from Julie’s character development up to that point. Production and Cameron tried to claim that viewers wouldn’t have accepted Mike as a married man, so it had to happen, but it didn’t do enough to quell the anger. The series did last for two more seasons, but the ratings declined considerably, and ABC ended up pulling the plug.
McCullough would continue to act throughout the 1990s, appearing on a number of TV shows, including a guest spot on “Beverly Hills, 90210.“
