John Stamos reflects on how his DUI arrest changed his life

‘It changed everything,’ Stamos says of arrest for driving under the influence

John Stamos has spoken candidly about past, pivotal moments in his life.

On Sunday 5 November, the Full House actor sat down with Willie Geist, during which he specifically mentioned his arrest in 2015 for driving under the influence. During the interview, he explained how monumental the situation was, along with the greater impact it has had on his life.

“It changed everything,” Stamos told Geist. “I got in my car like a fool, and I was not sober. I was driving around Beverly Hills. And looking back at it I was like: ‘Oh my God, I could’ve killed somebody. Horrible day.’”

Following the actor’s arrest, he went to rehab and “got my stuff together,” according to his memoir titled, If You Would Have Told Me, which came out on 24 October.

“And I realised that everything that I wanted in life was not happening,” Stamos said. “You know, yes, I got the girl, I got the TV show, I got Beach Boys. But I wanted a family. The most important thing I hadn’t done.”

Stamos was referring to his gig where he would play with the Beach Boys, while the “girl” was his first wife, model Rebecca Romijn, who he was married to from 1998 to 2005. The actor later went on to marry actress Caitlin McHugh in 2018 with who he shares a son. “It all just came around,” Stamos said.

During his interview with Geist, he also spoke about the death of his Full House co-star, Bob Saget, who passed away in January 2022 at the age of 65.

He reflected on the last dinner they had together before he died, and how it had taught him to focus more on the present rather than the future. “Well, we’re always in a hurry to go somewhere next,” Stamos told Geist.

“You never think: ‘This is the last time I’m going to see my best friend or that this was going to be the last picture we’re going to take,’” he continued. “But he was somehow - he was everything that I wanted Bob to be at that moment. He was calm and he listened, and he didn’t talk about himself that much.”

Recently, Stamos shared a heartwarming Matthew Perry memory in the wake of the Friends actor’s tragic death.

Perry, who shot to international stardom with his long-running role as the king of sarcasm Chandler Bing on Friends, was found dead in his Los Angeles hot tub on 28 October. He was 54.

A few days after his death, Stamos, 60, honoured Perry in an Instagram post. “Matthew and I had been friendly long before Friends, so when I guest starred as Zach, the prospective sperm donor for Chandler and Monica [Courteney Cox], I hung with him a lot,” the Full House star wrote.

Alongside a clip of a scene from the show’s episode, titled “The One with the Donor”, in which Monica and Chandler grill Zach about his family’s health history, Stamos recounted Perry’s unforgettable act of kindness.

“Standing backstage, ready to make my entrance, Matt whispers: ‘The audience is going go crazy when they see you! Get ready for some loud screams.’ I walk through the door… silence. I was so embarrassed,” Stamos said.

“We finish the scene and as I start to slither back to my dressing room and quit showbiz, Matt walks over to the studio audience: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for John Stamos! You guys probably didn’t recognise him at first because [he’s] so much better looking in person!’

“I never forgot that and the world will never forget you.”