Candace Cameron Bure Details Her Eating Disorder Battle at 18: ‘It Was Binging and Purging’

Candace Cameron Bure addressed how her struggles with body image caused her to take extreme measures in her younger years — and revealed she still deals with insecurities today.

“I developed an eating disorder when I was 18,” the Full House alum, 49, said on the Tuesday, July 22, episode of The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast. “It was binging and purging, like, I’m a bulimic.”

“I still say I’m a bulimic because the thoughts, whether I’m doing that or not, they never leave me,” she admitted. “I still need the tools to just say, ‘No, Candace, we’re not doing that.’”

The sitcom star went on to give a sweet shoutout to her husband of 29 years, Valeri Bure, expressing gratitude to the former hockey player, 51, for being an “incredible support” system.

“I feel, like, a broken record. I’m 49 years old, and I’m, like, ‘Why do I think about this so much? Why does it even matter so much?’ It’s so ridiculous,” she continued. “And yet, I’m still thinking about it [and] we’re here talking about it.”

Elsewhere in the podcast, Cameron Bure told guest co-host Lisa Whittle she struggles at times to feel fully confident in her own skin, revealing she has always looked at it “through a lens of comparison” due to being in the spotlight.

The actress rose to fame while portraying D.J. Tanner on the popular ‘80s show Full House, notably reprising her role for the reboot Fuller House, and appearing in numerous Christmas movies as well as other gigs on the small screen.

“I really believe that my parents did the best job in protecting me through those kinds of things, especially body image,” the No One Would Tell star shared, revealing they feared she would develop an eating disorder from all of the beauty standards she tried to keep up with.

Cameron Bure shared that she had been “put on a diet” starting from a young age, similar to her mom and sisters.

“That completely shaped the viewpoint that I had about myself, and the feelings about my body, like, ‘Oh, I have to make decisions because there’s a fear that I could develop an eating disorder because I’m on TV, because that’s the pressure, and I don’t want to be too fat compared to other actors because then producers might tell me that I need to lose weight,’” she further explained.

In the segment, Cameron Bure revealed there have been “amazing things and tools that have helped me along the way,” while noting it’s an ongoing process for her heart and soul.

Whittle also mentioned the concept of “whole body theology” during their honest exchange, explaining that people should view their bodies lovingly — as vessels created for God’s glory.

If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website or call their hotline at +1 (866) 662-1235.