When “Full House” first lit up TV screens in 1987, longtime Hallmark star Jodie Sweetin was just 5 years old, stepping into a world that would quietly shape her childhood.
Over the show’s eight-season run, the young cast didn’t just play family; they became one. Sweetin, best known as Stephanie Tanner, formed an especially loving bond with the Olsen twins, filled with sleepovers, laughter, and the kind of closeness only shared childhoods can create.
In a new interview, she reflected on that time, noting that the connection remains a meaningful chapter in her life, even as time and distance have gently reshaped their once inseparable friendship.
Sweetin Recalls Close Childhood Bond With Olsen Twins on ‘Full House’ Set
Alongside Candace Cameron Bure, then 11, and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sweetin grew up under the glow of studio lights, where long filming days turned into lasting memories.
“I loved them. I was really close to Ashley and Mary Kate … from the beginning,” Sweetin, 44, said on the April 21 episode of the “McBride Rewind” podcast.
She remembered spending time together off-set as well. “I would go to their room and hang out and play with them.”
‘Just Kid Stuff’: Inside Their Childhood Friendship
Looking back at those early years, Sweetin painted a picture of a carefree, close-knit friendship that blossomed well beyond the “Full House” set.
“I loved being the older one [and the] caretaker, like, ‘Let’s be friends.’ They would come spend the night at my house. They’d come to my cabin on the weekends with my parents and I. We’d go horseback riding. We’d go to Disneyland,” she shared, as quoted by US Weekly.
Sweetin added that their bond was rooted in simple childhood moments.
“I mean, I’ve got pictures of us playing dress up at my house, like, they’re 3 [and] I’m 6, like, just kid stuff, and I loved it.”
Why Their Relationship Changed Over Time
While their bond was strong during childhood, Sweetin shared that life naturally led them in different directions as they grew older.
“We haven’t talked,” she said, reflecting on where things stand today. “I think after ‘Full House’ and growing up and everything, they’ve had an extremely different trajectory than any of the rest of us.”
She was quick to emphasize that there was no falling out behind the distance.
“People say, ‘Oh, well, do you guys not talk? Is it bad?’ No,” Sweetin explained. “They were 8 years old when the show finished, [and] we weren’t as close as we were. I didn’t see them all the time.”
Over time, their lives simply moved along separate paths.
“It wasn’t like there was bad blood between any of us, but they moved to New York and then got married and [built their] fashion empire and moved into that world,” she said. “It was like we just sort of drifted apart.”
A Meaningful Reunion After Bob Saget’s Passing
GettyDespite the years apart, Sweetin shared that the “Full House” cast came back together in a deeply meaningful way following the death of their beloved co-star, Bob Saget, in 2022.
Getty“I think they fiercely protect [their] privacy, but when Bob passed, it was the first time that all of us had been together in a long time,” she said.
The reunion, she recalled, felt instantly familiar, as if no time had passed.
“It was just like it was before. It was normal. We all spent four days just constantly together after Bob passed, and it was like nothing had changed.”
Today, Sweetin said that the bond still exists, even if their lives no longer overlap in the same way.
“It’s not that there’s not a relationship there, it’s just that we live very different lives.”
As the cast of “Full House” continues to reflect on the show’s lasting legacy, Sweetin’s memories offer a heartfelt glimpse into the real friendships formed behind the scenes and how they have gently evolved over time.
