Candace Cameron Bure Talks Body Image Struggles
Candace Cameron Bure is opening up about her relationship with her body.
On Tuesday, the 49-year-old actress launched a new season of her podcast, “Candace Cameron Bure Podcast,” featuring guest Lisa Whittle. This season dives into “a lifelong struggle with body image, diet issues, and mental fatigue.”
In the first episode of season 11, Bure shared insights into the onset of her eating disorder.
“I developed an eating disorder when I was 18,” she revealed. “It felt like I was binging and purging, and I still identify as bulimic, even if I’m not actively doing it.”
Bure grew up in front of the camera, starring in “Full House” for eight seasons from 1987 to 1995. After the show concluded, she moved to Montreal to support her husband, Valeri Bure, during his hockey career, which coincided with her struggles with bingeing and purging.
She described her husband of 29 years as an “incredible support” through her challenges.
“I feel like a broken record,” Bure confessed. “I’m 49 years old. Why is this still so important to me? It feels ridiculous. Yet, here we are, still talking about it.”
She expressed relief in addressing these issues but hopes it’s a conversation we won’t have to keep revisiting. Bure admitted to wrestling with these feelings for decades.
“I read everything I can. I want all the information,” she shared. “There have been great tools that helped me, but nothing really transformed my mindset. It’s a vulnerable experience, but many people feel the same way.”
Growing up in Hollywood added pressure, especially since she landed her ABC show before even becoming a teenager.
Bure noted she was uncomfortable with food from a young age. “Everyone in my house was dieting,” she recalled. “My mom was always on a diet, as were my sisters, and I was too.”
She continued, “It wasn’t about explicitly needing to lose weight. We thought it was preventive. But this shaped how I viewed myself, thinking, ‘Oh, I’m on TV. I can’t let myself develop an eating disorder, so I have to make some choices.'”
Bure reflected on her parents’ concerns, wanting to shield her from comments about her weight from producers.
She praised her parents, Barbara and Robert Cameron, for protecting her during these formative years.
When discussing the pressure young actresses face, she mentioned Tracy Gold from “Growing Pains,” who developed an eating disorder but eventually sought treatment. Bure said her parents were “really afraid” for her well-being.
“I looked like a regular 12-year-old, with cheeks and thick arms, but I felt ‘a little bigger’ than other kids on TV,” she shared. “They were concerned I might develop an eating disorder because of the pressure.”
These discussions, however, led to Bure’s fixation on her body and food dynamics.
“It shaped how I viewed my body, as if it wasn’t good enough,” she explained, adding that these thoughts began at a young age and persisted through her teenage years.
In 2021, Bure, who is a mother to Natasha (26), Rev (25), and Maxim (23), spoke about how people still make comments about her body.
“People often say, ‘Wow, you’re so small!’ or ‘Wow, you’re thin!’ It’s something I hear repeatedly. Sometimes it can become part of your identity,” she noted, reflecting on societal perceptions and how they can alter one’s self-view.
Despite the comments, Bure conveyed that she felt fine.
“Dealing with such struggles is ongoing, but there are tools to manage temptations and setbacks to avoid returning to old patterns,” she explained.
She expressed happiness that society is now more accepting of different body sizes.
“I’m thrilled that today’s culture is shifting,” she remarked.
Bure stressed the importance of fostering physical confidence and positivity, highlighting how things have changed significantly since the ’80s and ’90s.
“It’s about raising our daughters and sons right,” she added, advocating for positive role models and a broader message in media.
