John Stamos talks about overcoming alcoholism, sexual abuse as a child in new memoir
John Stamos includes several revelations in his upcoming memoir.
In the book, "If You Would Have Told Me," the "Full House" actor, 60, opens up about surviving sexual abuse as a child and details his sobriety journey.
"I did set out to write a hero story, but then as I was doing it, I was like, 'No, I'm going to tell a human story,'" he said in an interview with People. "Because with the hero story, that's bulls---. And unless I was 100% forthcoming, what am I doing this for, right? But it was hard."
"I packed it away"
Stamos said he was around 10 or 11 years old when the abuse happened, and he alleges it was at the hands of his former babysitter.
"It was like you're playing dead, so they'll stop. But it wasn't totally aggressive," he said. "I don't know, it was not good."
The actor added that he "didn't tell" anyone at the time and that "it took me writing a book" for him to understand what had happened to him.
"I mean, I knew, it was always in the back, and I do so much advocacy for the [survivors]," he said. "I felt like, I remembered it slightly. It has always been there, but I packed it away as people do, right?"
Since then, Stamos has been an advocate for children who have experienced sexual abuse. For more than 20 years, he's been an ambassador for ChildHelp, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of child abuse.
The actor, who has a 5-year-old son, Billy, with wife Caitlin McHugh Stamos, added, "If I found out someone was doing that to my son, that's a totally different story."
"I've got to straighten up"
Stamos also revealed his issues with alcohol addiction.
He said receiving a DUI in 2015 was the moment he knew he had to "straighten up."
"I had that DUI and I was like, 'I can't do this,'" he said. "That's when I was confusing the universe because I'm not a bad person, but I was doing crappy things."
Stamos previously opened up about the DUI in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, saying that he entered rehab in July 2015. In that interview, he said that his divorce from actress Rebecca Romijn, as well as his mother's death in 2014 and his father's death in 2001, were all contributing factors to the downward spiral.
Speaking with People this week, Stamos said, "I had to sober up. I was just drinking too much."
"I just went low. I didn't go high," he continued. "I just surrounded myself with people I shouldn't have been with."
Stamos said his wife and his son have helped keep him on the path of sobriety since then.
"They have kept me on this path because going down the road of being sober and taking care of yourself, everybody tries," he said. "Everybody does it. You could get going for a little while. Then, it's like, 'I can drink again.'"
He added, "So, it's staying on the path is what they mostly do for me."
Stamos' memoir, "If You Would Have Told Me," will be released on Oct. 24.
If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMSA) confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). For information and resources about alcohol-related problems and health, visit the website of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) HERE.
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call 1-800-799-7233, or if you're unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
