For kids who grew up in the '80s and '90s, watching Full House often felt like an extension of your own family. It portrayed the perfect life, the perfect kids, as well as the most perfect parents one could hope for.
But although the lives of the Tanner family might have appeared idyllic on TV, for series star Jodie Sweetin — life was anything but. Now, after more than 35 years since the debut of Full House, the actress is opening up about her childhood and her life with her adoptive family.
Besides being in some Hallmark movies, Jodie played the adorably sarcastic Stephanie Tanner on the much-beloved family sitcom, Full House. She is now an icon because of it.
Years later, after Jodie was all grown up, she reprised her role on the Netflix revival series Fuller House.
I'll take any excuse to see Uncle Jesse.
Much to the delight of fans, Fuller House was able to live up to the legacy of its predecessor and then some.
But in reality, her home life situation was anything but that. In fact, it was a bit of a nightmare.
At the time of Jodie's birth, both of her biological parents were incarcerated.
Her father was killed in a prison riot before Jodie ever had the chance to meet him. Recently, she made an appearance on Olivia Jade's 'Conversations' podcast and opened up a lot about her life.
"So my dad, Sam, my adopted dad, his ex-wife who he had three adult kids with when they adopted me, she was my biological father's aunt," Jodie explained.
Her soon-to-be adoptive father would often come over to check on things and see her.
"He was still around that family and saw me there."
"And, as fate would have it, Sam and his second wife, Janice, were hoping to start a family of their own," Jodie said.
Thankfully, she was in their sights.
Jodie was in dire need of a family and Sam and Janice desperately wanted a child of their own. Their fates aligned and roughly one year later, the adoption was finalized.
While speaking with Allison Kugel on the Allison Interviews podcast, Jodie conveyed how in her younger years she used to think "‘Oh, something was wrong with me.’"
"There’s this point in your life where you finally kind of realize what happened," Sweetin said. "That it no longer becomes something about you, that it’s like, ‘Oh, I wasn’t wanted.’”
Although it might sound like something out of a Lifetime movie, in reality, intrafamily adoptions are incredibly common and even preferred.
She offered her reasons as to why more people don't talk about intrafamily adoption.
"People don’t really talk about it, because I think there’s this weird sense of shame if there’s an interfamily adoption," she said thoughtfully.
"So I like sharing my story now, because I think that more people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, me, too.'"
She is certainly right about that! Thankfully, people are opening up about these situations a lot more.
If you'd like to keep up to date with Jodie and all that she has going on in her world today, be sure to check out the Never Thought I'd Say This podcast on Spotify.
