Candace Cameron Bure, 49, Opens Up About Her Health Disorder

The "Full House" actress is confronting her past and present with disarming honesty, opening up about her long battle with bulimia and how it continues to shape her life today.

Candace Cameron Bure has revealed that she still struggles with the eating disorder she developed as a teenager. She shared that it began after her parents put her on a diet, a decision that influenced how she viewed her body.

During the July 22, 2025, episode of her podcast, "The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast," Bure and her guest, Lisa Whittle, discussed body image and eating disorders.

The "Full House" actress spoke candidly about her experience with bulimia. "I, too, developed an eating disorder when I was 18," she said. "It was binging and purging. I'm a bulimic. And I still say I'm a bulimic."

Although she no longer engages in bulimic behaviors, Bure explained that she continues to identify as bulimic because the thoughts remain. "I still need the tools to just say, 'No, Candace, we're not doing that,'" she admitted.

Bure emphasized that she does not blame her upbringing, saying her parents did their best. However, when her brother Kirk Cameron began struggling with eating disorders, her parents became concerned for her as well.

From then on, her family focused on health, but in practice, everyone in the house was on a diet. While her parents never pressured her to lose weight, their approach was clear in how they ate.

She said her parents presented it as "preventative." Instead of pressuring her to lose weight, they focused on teaching her how to be healthy and stay active.

Still, that mindset left a lasting impact. "That very thing just shaped the way I looked at my body, which was like, 'Oh, it's not good enough the way it is right now,'" she said.

In a past interview, a crying Bure shared that reading the Bible helped her reevaluate how she treated her body. "God allowed my body to speak back and my body said back to me: 'Have I not been the body that's carried you all the days of your life?'"

Listeners responded with deep appreciation for Bure's vulnerability. Many women shared how her story reflected their own struggles.

"I had no idea that so many women felt like this. I'm just listening and mentally checking boxes of my life," said one woman in her 60s. "And then on top of the body image and what you're eating, what you're not eating, I was shocked to find out the obsession with healthy foods is a new thing because that's like me. [sic]" She thanked Bure for her openness, saying it could help heal many women.

Another supporter wrote, "This podcast is going to be so helpful! 23:00 Must've been so difficult. I'm so sorry." "Thank you so very much for your vulnerability on this topic," commented a third person. "It is so good for us to see the real you so that we aren't always envious of skinny girls thinking that they have it all, when really we all struggle."

"I'm 50 and I'm shocked by this. I had no idea women felt this way. This is so helpful to understand people better," added another listener.

Bure, who turns 50 on April 6, 2026, has made fitness a priority since her early 30s. She says she's more motivated than ever to stay strong as she gets older.

"Not so much from a vanity point of view, but like, you know, I wanna be able to open the peanut butter jar when I'm 80, and I need grip strength for that," she shared. "But all that comes from using your muscles and lifting weights and just basic skills."

While she's committed to aging well, she admits it hasn't been easy — especially under the spotlight. She regularly receives critical comments about her appearance.

One person sent her a message on Instagram accusing her of not aging well. Bure responded through a series of now-deleted Instagram Stories.

She wrote, "I receive countless messages like this on the daily. As much as I love connecting on social media, this is one of the downfalls. I'm a [middle-aged] woman and can handle rude people. Imagine how this affects our children."

Bure, who has three children — Natasha, 26, Lev, 25, and Maksim, 23 — with husband Valeri Bure, continued the conversation in a second post.

"I shared the last post, not for sympathy but to show the kinds of messages I receive daily. DAILY!! Aging is sensitive," she said. "Comments like this hurt, no matter whether they meant to be mean spirited or just a shared 'opinion.' As I embrace aging, I'm choosing to do it as naturally and as gracefully as possible."

She added, "I imagine the people who write these kinds of messages are reflecting what they are personally feeling about their own self to some degree. I feel sad for them and pray for their hearts to know the love of God." Bure ended her message to followers with a reminder, "Be kind. Uplift others. Spread joy."