Speaker 1: This is Conversationous with Olivia Jade and I Heart Radio podcast.
Speaker 1: Hello everybody, it's Olivia Jade. Welcome back to another episode
Speaker 1: of Conversation. Today's guest is somebody very special and somebody
Speaker 1: who I've known probably since I was a baby, because
Speaker 1: she was on Full House with my mom. She has
Speaker 1: such an amazing story and has been through so much.
Speaker 1: And I'm sure some of you know and are familiar
Speaker 1: with her, and maybe some of you know who she is,
Speaker 1: but don't know what she's been through and the strength
Speaker 1: she carries. So I am really excited to interview her today.
Speaker 1: And with that being said, please welcome miss Jodie Sweeten.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming on. Absolutely my pleasure.
Speaker 1: Olivia's good to be here. I'm so excited to have you. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I feel like I've known you forever just through my
Speaker 1: mom and stuff. But and I know so many people
Speaker 1: who listen to this podcast know who you are and
Speaker 1: grew up watching Full House and are such big fans.
Speaker 1: But maybe for those who don't know who you are,
Speaker 1: which is probably a very small percent of people, but
Speaker 1: maybe you could explain a little bit about yourself. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I have been best known as Stephanie Tanner on full
Speaker 1: and Fuller House. Um. I have played the character since
Speaker 1: I was five years old and then got to come
Speaker 1: back and do it on Fuller House for five seasons. Um.
Speaker 1: I'm also a mom to two girls, Zoe who just
Speaker 1: turned fourteen yesterday and Beatrix who was eleven and a half.
Speaker 1: And um, yeah, busy working and doing holiday movies and
Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff too. So there's a few
Speaker 1: places you can find me my podcast as well. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm kind of all over the place. I love it,
Speaker 1: So I obviously I just know who you are through
Speaker 1: my mom and through Full House and growing up around
Speaker 1: all this. But then I also went before coming on here,
Speaker 1: I wanted to do my research and have some facts,
Speaker 1: um what I thought was really interesting. And I was
Speaker 1: listening to another podcast you did actually, and you were
Speaker 1: talking about being adopted and how later in life you've
Speaker 1: kind of accepted that now and you're like, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a positive to you, but maybe when you were
Speaker 1: a little bit younger, and for other kids that have
Speaker 1: been adopted, like feeling like, I don't know if unwanted
Speaker 1: is the right word, because obviously I'm not adopted, so
Speaker 1: I don't want to put into your mouth. No, it's
Speaker 1: a it's a definite it's a it's a you know,
Speaker 1: this weird feeling of rejection that you that you oftentimes
Speaker 1: can't heal, that you can't find you know you you
Speaker 1: don't know the reason you can't find the person. Sometimes
Speaker 1: that beginning of your life is sort of a mystery.
Speaker 1: And I think for everyone that feels that would feel
Speaker 1: really strange just not know, you know what that little
Speaker 1: beginning period of your life really was. Um. But for me,
Speaker 1: like coming through that and and becoming a mom myself,
Speaker 1: and like figuring out that just because you become a
Speaker 1: mom doesn't mean you'd stopped becoming a human who has
Speaker 1: to make really tough life choices for themselves. Um. It
Speaker 1: just changed a lot of things for me. And how
Speaker 1: old were you when you were adopted? You were really Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was like just around a year old, So it
Speaker 1: was you know, I don't have like a long history
Speaker 1: of life without my parents that I know. Um, but
Speaker 1: you know, there is there's a lot of stuff that
Speaker 1: I just will never know, right, And you're okay with
Speaker 1: that now, Like, yeah, I mean I I've gotten to
Speaker 1: the place where I'm like, you know, what if for
Speaker 1: some reason information falls in my lap or I find
Speaker 1: out something cool, but I no longer feel like I
Speaker 1: don't know who I am. And I think that's really
Speaker 1: what it was, is I once I really started getting
Speaker 1: more secure and who I was, it was no longer
Speaker 1: the search for what external thing made me who I was.
Speaker 1: It was more like, oh, no, I know who I am, right.
Speaker 1: And so my mom actually, when I told her you
Speaker 1: were coming on the podcast, she was explaining to me.
Speaker 1: She was like, Jody has a really act, a very
Speaker 1: interesting story, and she was explaining to me that you're
Speaker 1: somehow your your your parents, the people that have adopted
Speaker 1: you have some correlation to your birth parents. Is that
Speaker 1: corre Yeah? Yeah, yeah, well my so, my my add
Speaker 1: sam Um. I adopted Dad his ex wife who he
Speaker 1: had three adult kids with, uh W. When they adopted me.
Speaker 1: She was my biological father's aunt, and so I've come
Speaker 1: to stay at her house. I was staying at Rose's house,
Speaker 1: my dad's ex wife, and and he would go over
Speaker 1: there to check on her and check on the house that,
Speaker 1: you know, make sure things were working right or whatever
Speaker 1: is still around that family. And Um saw me there
Speaker 1: and my parents really wanted to have kids, and um,
Speaker 1: they were having some struggles and and so you know,
Speaker 1: it wound up that they were able to adopt me
Speaker 1: through sort of through that chain. So yeah, it's an
Speaker 1: interesting story and I think actually is a story that
Speaker 1: happens a lot, but people don't really talk about it
Speaker 1: because I think there's like this weird sense of shame,
Speaker 1: um if there's like an inter family a option. But
Speaker 1: I think, you know, I think that in her family,
Speaker 1: adoption happens a lot. So I like sharing my story
Speaker 1: now because I think more people were like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: me too, and it doesn't feels isolating and weird and
Speaker 1: like outside of the norm totally. And then so you
Speaker 1: were fourteen months essentially when you were adopted, and then
Speaker 1: at what age when you could talk, did you know
Speaker 1: you wanted to be in like the show business world
Speaker 1: and in this industry or how did that come about?
Speaker 1: I mean, I really did. I grew up. I was, Um,
Speaker 1: I was a pretty bright little kid. Um like you know,
Speaker 1: not to be like obnoxious about and stuff. But I
Speaker 1: was like reading full books. By the age of about
Speaker 1: three and a half. You could set pretty much anything
Speaker 1: in front of me and I could. I could read
Speaker 1: just about anything. I loved reading. I was a voracious reader. UM.
Speaker 1: Memorizing dance music, all of that was what I absolutely loved.
Speaker 1: And I would tell my mom that, Um, I wanted
Speaker 1: to be a modeler, which was what I called people
Speaker 1: on TV. UM. And so I started doing like little
Speaker 1: print work, you know, in Orange County, down in like
Speaker 1: South l A where we lived, and um, I was
Speaker 1: in dance recitals. But like I remember being in my
Speaker 1: first dance recital dressed as a cabbage patch kid. Just
Speaker 1: picture that form, gigantic bonnet, very eight oh so so
Speaker 1: eighties dance moms like sparkly. It was just amazing. Um. Anyway,
Speaker 1: so our dance recital, I was in the second row
Speaker 1: and the girl in front of me. I was like,
Speaker 1: she's just not doing it right. So I sort of
Speaker 1: wedged my way up into the front, was like this
Speaker 1: is how it's done. And I think it was that
Speaker 1: moment that my mom was like, you know, maybe she
Speaker 1: likes to perform. I think maybe she can handle it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I started doing like commercials and little things like that.
Speaker 1: But because I, you know, I could pick things up
Speaker 1: really quickly. UM, I just started working a lot, and
Speaker 1: I was doing a ton of commercials and stuff, and
Speaker 1: then I did, um, Valerie. I did an episode of
Speaker 1: Valerie and then got cast as Stephanie. Because the producers
Speaker 1: on when you were on Valerie weren't the same producers
Speaker 1: on Full House, right, Yes, they were Bob Boyette and
Speaker 1: Tom So Miller Boyette and also Rich Correll, who wound
Speaker 1: up directing a ton of Full House episodes, who I'm
Speaker 1: very dear friends with. Um, he was a producer on
Speaker 1: Valerie at the time. You know, there was a lot
Speaker 1: of people that I've known since I was four years old,
Speaker 1: and I did that Valerie appearance and that was how
Speaker 1: I got cast to Stephanie. I never auditioned or anything. Um,
Speaker 1: it just sort of fell in my lap and and
Speaker 1: the rest is history. So I also feel like you
Speaker 1: can tell just from Full House and your rolling like
Speaker 1: as Stephanie, you were definitely a very bright child because
Speaker 1: you were so like just the way you talk at
Speaker 1: such a young age, literally like five years old, you
Speaker 1: can tell you're so so bright. Um. Yeah, of course,
Speaker 1: I mean that's just I feel like a given to
Speaker 1: anybody because it's such a loved character obviously, but also
Speaker 1: I feel like you can see like a little bit
Speaker 1: of your personality as well, because when you're that young,
Speaker 1: I feel like naturally part of you half to shine
Speaker 1: through absolutely, Like I you know, there are definitely times
Speaker 1: when I look at, particularly getting to come back and play,
Speaker 1: you know, Stephanie as an adult, where I was like
Speaker 1: the line between Stephanie and me is, you know, is
Speaker 1: very fuzzy sometimes because I'm like, she has so much
Speaker 1: of me in her, or is it that I have
Speaker 1: so much of her in me because I became her
Speaker 1: at five? Like I don't know, but we're definitely like intermeshed.
Speaker 1: Do you like being known like best known as you know,
Speaker 1: Stephanie from Full House? Because I remember when my mom
Speaker 1: was doing a lot of homework stuff, she was never
Speaker 1: upset if anybody would come and be like, you're in
Speaker 1: Packy from full House. But when she was doing the
Speaker 1: Hallmark movies, I remember She's like, damn. I wish like
Speaker 1: people would say, like you're on one calls the heart
Speaker 1: or whatever it is, right, I mean, you know the
Speaker 1: there there, It's it's a blessing and a curse. And
Speaker 1: I think in a way I've grown through it and
Speaker 1: grown to accept it. I think at some point when
Speaker 1: I was young, there was some resentment about it and
Speaker 1: like absolutely wanting to shed that image. UM, and I
Speaker 1: think sometimes I did some really self destructive things to
Speaker 1: do that, and as I grew up and like grew
Speaker 1: out of it. Like I had an experience the other
Speaker 1: day walking down the street over here with my fiance
Speaker 1: after lunch, and this girl a little younger than me
Speaker 1: stopped me and she just said, Oh my god, I
Speaker 1: have to tell you what an incredibly important part of
Speaker 1: my life you are. Like you are so I I
Speaker 1: grew up watching you. You were always my favorite, Like
Speaker 1: I watched it with my mom and my grandma. You
Speaker 1: have no idea what you mean to me, and like
Speaker 1: I follow you, I look like, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for just like what you do and who you are.
Speaker 1: And it was the I was taken aback, Like I
Speaker 1: was incredibly moved by this experience, And it had to
Speaker 1: do with the fact that I'm so well known for
Speaker 1: this character that like people have watched it their entire
Speaker 1: lives and it means something incredibly important. And I've now
Speaker 1: come to this place where I really appreciate that. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm glad that that I get to bring that to somebody,
Speaker 1: you know, and now do I wish I had other
Speaker 1: opportunities or that people may take me seriously as doing
Speaker 1: something else? Absolutely, I know I can do a lot more, um,
Speaker 1: but you know, sometimes I just have to make the
Speaker 1: choice of like, okay, but what you know, what do
Speaker 1: you want to do? Do you want to like fight
Speaker 1: and you know, only try and do what you want
Speaker 1: to do, or do you want to just lean into
Speaker 1: the fact that you make people happy with me in
Speaker 1: this person? So? Yeah, yeah, it is such a big blessing.
Speaker 1: And you were So you started out five on Full
Speaker 1: House and then how long? How long did Full House run?
Speaker 1: We had eight seasons? So how many years? Is that
Speaker 1: eight years? Well? Roughly? Yeah, roughly eight years because we
Speaker 1: would shoot like nine months um out of the year
Speaker 1: and then we usually have like a little bit of
Speaker 1: spring and early summer off and then we come back
Speaker 1: like around July. Got it. So when you were done
Speaker 1: with Full House? Was that like a really weird transition
Speaker 1: period because I can only imagine being that young and
Speaker 1: being around the same people so often and like building
Speaker 1: these relationships with producers and like not being a completely
Speaker 1: normal kid where you have kids around all the time.
Speaker 1: In a normal school, like you're hanging out with like
Speaker 1: Bob and John and my mom and Canvas, and like,
Speaker 1: what was that like when it was over? You know,
Speaker 1: I look at it now and I realized it was
Speaker 1: a big loss. You know, at the time, I think
Speaker 1: it I didn't realize, and I don't think I considered
Speaker 1: or gave myself enough credit for UM going through such
Speaker 1: a big loss at that age. It was the loss
Speaker 1: of everything I'd really known growing up. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't have many memories from before doing Full House and
Speaker 1: before these people were in my life, and a lot
Speaker 1: of my memories have to do with traveling with them,
Speaker 1: being on set with them, going to events with them,
Speaker 1: like they are so they are my family because they
Speaker 1: are what I knew growing up, Like they surrounded me.
Speaker 1: And so it's like, it's such a weird experience to
Speaker 1: um to have that and then suddenly lose it. It's
Speaker 1: like being separated from your entire family, and you know
Speaker 1: that I could only imagine what that's like, but it
Speaker 1: was like a sudden disconnect. Did you and roll in school?
Speaker 1: I actually went to school. I went to school in
Speaker 1: the mornings and then rehearsed in the afternoon and then
Speaker 1: we because we worked four day weeks, I would have
Speaker 1: Monday off all day, I'd go to school. Um, Tuesday
Speaker 1: and Wednesday I went to school and tell lunch, and
Speaker 1: then I would drive my mom would pick me up
Speaker 1: because I've lived in Orange County and drive to Set.
Speaker 1: I've learned my lines in the car and then like
Speaker 1: do homework in the car on the way home. Um.
Speaker 1: And then Thursday and Friday I was schooled exclusively on SET.
Speaker 1: So I did have like a foot in normal life,
Speaker 1: So it wasn't quite as much of a shock. Um,
Speaker 1: but you know, it felt like it just felt really
Speaker 1: different all of a sudden, and and you certainly didn't
Speaker 1: just blend in, you know what I mean. And so
Speaker 1: I think it was it was this weird time in
Speaker 1: my life of trying to figure out who I was,
Speaker 1: but also to just blend into everyone else completely because
Speaker 1: I just wanted to be normal. Yeah, you know, so
Speaker 1: it was it was hard, It was no, it was
Speaker 1: a it was a big loss. But um, like coming
Speaker 1: back to Fuller House and getting to do that again
Speaker 1: as an adult and getting to understand it in a
Speaker 1: different way was like such an incredible gift. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel like that's also such a testament to like
Speaker 1: how impactful Full House was, the fact that like, like
Speaker 1: shows don't come back that often. And I remember when
Speaker 1: it came back, I said to my mom, because I didn't,
Speaker 1: I don't think, well, obviously I wasn't alive when you
Speaker 1: guys were all filming full House, and then I don't
Speaker 1: think I ever really had an understanding of like how
Speaker 1: big the show was until I started my YouTube channel
Speaker 1: and I knew a lot about like YouTube views, and
Speaker 1: I saw the fuller House trailer come out on YouTube
Speaker 1: and I saw the views it had, and I ran
Speaker 1: into my parents room and I was like, wait, mom,
Speaker 1: was full House like a massive show? Like why does
Speaker 1: this new trail so many views? Yeah? And she was
Speaker 1: like laughing, She's like, yeah, that's a pretty big show. Um.
Speaker 1: And speaking of that, actually, I kind of want to
Speaker 1: know because obviously, when you guys were filming full House,
Speaker 1: there wasn't social media. It was a completely different world,
Speaker 1: Like people didn't see into your personal life. People felt
Speaker 1: so connected to your character. But do you think there
Speaker 1: was like when you guys were out and about, was
Speaker 1: it like mayhem where people were coming up to you
Speaker 1: and it was a crazy, crazy thing at the time,
Speaker 1: or is that like, yeah, yeah, it was wild. I mean,
Speaker 1: and I think, you know, as a kid did it.
Speaker 1: That's like a weird way to grow up, you know,
Speaker 1: people following you into the bathroom and passing a note
Speaker 1: under the door to be like will you sign this
Speaker 1: for me? And you're like, this is really kind of
Speaker 1: a bad time for me. I don't get touching your
Speaker 1: pen right now? Bro? What is wrong with you? You
Speaker 1: know what I mean? Um? And so growing up with
Speaker 1: that spotlight I mean and that you know, Yeah, there
Speaker 1: were times like I go to the mall. I'll never
Speaker 1: forget Oh my god, this was such a great one.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget it. I was probably nine or ten
Speaker 1: years old and someone came up to me in a mall.
Speaker 1: I think it was like a meat and Greek thing
Speaker 1: that you know I used to do all appearances or whatever,
Speaker 1: and they came up and they just touched me like
Speaker 1: that and they were like, oh my god, you're real,
Speaker 1: Like it was what out what? What? What? What do
Speaker 1: you expect? Like? And it was just a real moment
Speaker 1: where I was like, oh, people see me as this
Speaker 1: thing that exists only here, but like me as a
Speaker 1: person is doesn't really exist for them and it was
Speaker 1: just like a weird realization. So yeah, but it was
Speaker 1: it was crazy. I mean I had to get snuck
Speaker 1: out of a mall in Iowa once because um, a
Speaker 1: mall appearance attracted too many people and um, it was
Speaker 1: a mess, so wild. I think. Also, what's so special
Speaker 1: about Full Houses? Like how close the whole cast was,
Speaker 1: like genuinely and even being at Bob like Bob's memorial recently,
Speaker 1: it's like the love like that fills the room when
Speaker 1: it's all of you guys together is so genuine. Why
Speaker 1: do you think that was? Because I feel like most
Speaker 1: shows and even friends that I have now that are
Speaker 1: on TV shows with other cast mates around their age
Speaker 1: and stuff, it's not like that. Like what made that
Speaker 1: so um special? I don't I truly, I know it
Speaker 1: was the people, But the fact that those people all
Speaker 1: came together at that time in their lives is amazing
Speaker 1: to me. I mean, there I always say like there
Speaker 1: was some sort of magical thing that happened with Full House,
Speaker 1: with the cast, with the crew, with our producers. It
Speaker 1: was more than just a show. Um, it really was
Speaker 1: a family amongst all of us and you know, in
Speaker 1: in large part that was do we we had a cast,
Speaker 1: and we had adults on a cast who included the kids.
Speaker 1: We were not just these like, you know, annoying things.
Speaker 1: We were the kids that they joked around with in
Speaker 1: between takes. And you know, I would spend time with
Speaker 1: Bob's family on weekends and they were, you know, changing
Speaker 1: the twins diet like somebody would change the twins diaper
Speaker 1: my mom or you know, our teacher. Like it was.
Speaker 1: It was just a family unit. And I am so
Speaker 1: incredibly grateful for it, becaus I just gained this huge
Speaker 1: family of people that I know love me like no
Speaker 1: matter what, you know, no matter whatever happens, our differences
Speaker 1: are whatever, Like we just genuinely love each other and
Speaker 1: no matter what happens, we will always show up for
Speaker 1: each other. Yeah, it's so true. And you have two
Speaker 1: kids now and Bob obviously playing your dad on the
Speaker 1: show and having like John as the uncle and Dave
Speaker 1: and everybody around that was a bit older. Do you
Speaker 1: feel like you not like maybe learned parenting tips, but
Speaker 1: like do you feel like that is like something that
Speaker 1: you remember and like it connects to how you parent now?
Speaker 1: You know, um, in a way like when I think
Speaker 1: back on it, like I remember, I remember Bob just
Speaker 1: being really inclusive of his kids, like they he and
Speaker 1: he didn't talk to them like they were idiots like
Speaker 1: he really and he and he did the same with me,
Speaker 1: like he treated me with respect, um as a young person.
Speaker 1: And so did John and David, Like I under stood that,
Speaker 1: you know when I had kids, like you can joke
Speaker 1: with them, you can have real conversations, and I, you know,
Speaker 1: my my mom taught me that too, like I and
Speaker 1: I think, I don't know, I just think they they've
Speaker 1: also brought a level of humor to my parenting. Um
Speaker 1: that my kids are also inheriting, which is you know,
Speaker 1: both good and bad. Uh. Yeah, it's uh, it's definitely
Speaker 1: a challenge. Sometimes I'm like, not in front of Grammy, please,
Speaker 1: oh my god, don't do that. But yeah, I learned.
Speaker 1: I learned a lot from them, and I and I
Speaker 1: continue to. You know, Dave is an amazing dad and
Speaker 1: his son, I mean, Luke is so successful in what
Speaker 1: he does. And you know, it's all of our extended
Speaker 1: family too, like those are my you know, my my
Speaker 1: nieces and nephews and my cousins and my you know,
Speaker 1: but I grew up with Do you have any like
Speaker 1: funny stories on set that stand out? I mean I've
Speaker 1: heard a million and the thousand. Every time I'm around,
Speaker 1: somebody always has something to say. But anything you can
Speaker 1: think of off the top of your hat, and then
Speaker 1: we can move on from Full House. Okay, there is
Speaker 1: there's one story, and I know we've told it before.
Speaker 1: I don't know if the guys have told it. But
Speaker 1: we had this director, joel's Wick, who was fantastic and
Speaker 1: directed a ton of episodes of Full House, but he
Speaker 1: was tying of like a small statured man, and he
Speaker 1: would get really frustrated and like he was great until
Speaker 1: he just lost it. And you know, Bob and John
Speaker 1: and Dave would push things. Particularly Bob and Dave would
Speaker 1: push and push. They were the kids that just wanted
Speaker 1: to test the boundary and like keep going and keep
Speaker 1: sucking around and what um So anyway, uh that was there.
Speaker 1: There was a time, an incident whatever the guys were
Speaker 1: screwing around and Joel lost it and was like that's it.
Speaker 1: Everybody up to the green room. Everybody up there. And
Speaker 1: so everybody went up there, like the kids, the adults
Speaker 1: and we're all like sitting around the stable and he
Speaker 1: walks in and he's like, hey, it's not the kids,
Speaker 1: they're actually doing well. I'm talking to the adult. And
Speaker 1: it was like we got kicked out of the room
Speaker 1: so that the adults could get in front. Like I
Speaker 1: was just like, wow, okay, jeez, got you know, like
Speaker 1: it was just really funny, um when the adults were
Speaker 1: the kids exactly exactly and around, and I became that
Speaker 1: adult that was just screwing around, and I inherited that
Speaker 1: that gene was Fuller House. Do you feel like, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think it's different obviously because there were kids on
Speaker 1: Fuller House too, Like did you feel like then you
Speaker 1: were like in Bob or Day or John or my
Speaker 1: Mom's position for these kids. Yeah? Absolutely absolutely. And you
Speaker 1: know what, in a big way, the way that John
Speaker 1: and Bob and Dave and your mom treated us as
Speaker 1: kids and as young people, as young adults really I
Speaker 1: think had an effect on how we treated the kids.
Speaker 1: We knew how to treat these kids with respect, We
Speaker 1: knew how to get them to do their jobs, um,
Speaker 1: and we knew how to have fun, you know, and
Speaker 1: we knew how to include them and stuff and how
Speaker 1: to make it feel like the family. Um, and I
Speaker 1: really do think that's in large part two, how we
Speaker 1: were treated. We knew that's how it should be. It
Speaker 1: should be a family, you should actually genuinely care about
Speaker 1: each other and spend time together. So that was that
Speaker 1: was a huge influence. And I'm assuming when they came
Speaker 1: and said we're going to do Fuller House, there wasn't hesitation.
Speaker 1: Everybody was like, yep, on board, right, Oh well, we
Speaker 1: were actually in the rooms pitching the idea of meet
Speaker 1: Candice in any way. I don't know that stays along
Speaker 1: with Jeff Franklin and Bob Boy we were in on
Speaker 1: all the pitch meetings. Um. So it was really our
Speaker 1: our you know, John and Jeff and the three of
Speaker 1: us had really you know, been fighting for this for
Speaker 1: a long time. So yeah, it was great. It was great.
Speaker 1: And then you went to college. So what was that?
Speaker 1: Like you were famous on full House doing all this
Speaker 1: stuff and then like you're going to be normal and
Speaker 1: go to school. I went, Yeah, I went to high school.
Speaker 1: The show I did when I was thirteen, so I
Speaker 1: went right into high school after that, and then I
Speaker 1: did graduate high school, and I um, I was doing well,
Speaker 1: I wound up going to Chapman University UM, and you know,
Speaker 1: that was at the point when I really started struggling
Speaker 1: with some of my addiction and all kinds of stuff. UM.
Speaker 1: And so for me, the college experience, it was you
Speaker 1: know a lot of um falling down and getting back up.
Speaker 1: But I managed to graduate. You know, it took me
Speaker 1: like a semester longer because my first semester was not
Speaker 1: pretty uh and you know, I wanted graduating with the
Speaker 1: uh bachelor's in Liberal Studies with an emphasis and elementary
Speaker 1: education and history minor. And I sort of tried to
Speaker 1: enjoy just being just having that normal life for a
Speaker 1: little while. You've been pretty open with like addiction, right,
Speaker 1: you talked about that publicly. I don't want to ask
Speaker 1: any questions if it's about and definitely, you know, and
Speaker 1: definitely given me the perspective of life that I that
Speaker 1: I have UM. And I think, you know, the openness
Speaker 1: has really helped a lot of people. So I was
Speaker 1: gonna say that when we share our stories, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, it not only loses the fear that we
Speaker 1: have in people finding out our secrets, but it also
Speaker 1: allows other people to realize that their secrets maybe aren't
Speaker 1: so isolating, right, I think that it's that's so true obviously,
Speaker 1: Like especially in my age. I feel like my demographic
Speaker 1: is quite close to my age, like early twenties in college,
Speaker 1: going through all this stuff, being introduced to different drugs
Speaker 1: and alcohol and stuff like that, and it can be
Speaker 1: like a really hard time for so many people because
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of people don't know like
Speaker 1: how addictive some of these substances can be, and so
Speaker 1: it's like funn in games until it's not. Um, how
Speaker 1: did you? How did that all happen for you? Like,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it was a journey. It was,
Speaker 1: like I said, like I spent a lot of my
Speaker 1: not only college but twenties just sort of like climbing
Speaker 1: the mountain and then tumbling down the other side, but
Speaker 1: getting up and climbing in again, you know, And it
Speaker 1: was um uh gosho from eleven uh. It's been like
Speaker 1: eleven years. My sobriety is eleven years ago, my official one.
Speaker 1: But I haven't had alcohol or any like crazy drugs
Speaker 1: or anything like that. Other it was muscle relaxers that
Speaker 1: I took. Um. Other than that, I've spent like fourteen years, um,
Speaker 1: since I've done any of that. And you know, I
Speaker 1: I as a person who I thought that was just
Speaker 1: who I was, that it was a part of who
Speaker 1: I was. Um, it was a part of my self worth.
Speaker 1: There was you know, there was a lot of things
Speaker 1: that played into it, um. But I look at it
Speaker 1: now as just someone who was trying to deal with
Speaker 1: a lot of hurt um and had nowhere to put it.
Speaker 1: And so I think I judge myself a little bit
Speaker 1: less too, you know, and I um and as I've
Speaker 1: been able to do that, it has allowed me to
Speaker 1: open up a little bit more and not be so
Speaker 1: afraid of other people's judgment. I'm like, I really don't care.
Speaker 1: I'm giving time for it um And and connected me
Speaker 1: with some really amazing, wonderful people, And I, you know,
Speaker 1: hope that being open and honest about who I've been
Speaker 1: and who I hope to become and I'm still working
Speaker 1: on is a journey that we're all on. So yeah, totally.
Speaker 1: Was there like a breaking point where you're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I need to be sober or is it something that
Speaker 1: like somebody else in your life was I mean, I
Speaker 1: had those moments over and over and I think until,
Speaker 1: like you know, until you really all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: oh okay, like I get it. I get it now.
Speaker 1: Just exactly what this is doing for me? And why
Speaker 1: why I I abuse this? Why I you know, I
Speaker 1: am searching for something? Um. And you know, ever since,
Speaker 1: those moments kind of all lined up and eventually I
Speaker 1: just decided that it was easier to go heal the
Speaker 1: pain than keep creating more. So, UM, yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful for the place that I am in
Speaker 1: my life today and I and I've become grateful for
Speaker 1: a lot of the hard things that I went through too. Right,
Speaker 1: what's like the one thing that you think you've learned
Speaker 1: just from being not only in the public eye, but
Speaker 1: going through a lot, coming out clean, being sober, being
Speaker 1: a wonderful mom to your two kids? Like, what's something
Speaker 1: that you would teach them or something that you're constantly
Speaker 1: telling your own kids that's like so important to you. Um,
Speaker 1: there is no perfect, There is no perfect, don't It's
Speaker 1: an unattainable you know illusion that you can spend your
Speaker 1: entire life chasing trying to be the perfect mom, trying
Speaker 1: to be the perfect girlfriend, you know, actress. Um, whatever
Speaker 1: it might be like I just have to be perfect
Speaker 1: and that doesn't exist, and it's something that we create
Speaker 1: and then we judge ourselves by it. And I've just
Speaker 1: learned that, Okay, I'm just doing the best I can.
Speaker 1: Like I'm I'm just trying, and sometimes that best is
Speaker 1: not great, and sometimes there's three days. Um, but like,
Speaker 1: don't get too hung up on the idea of perfect
Speaker 1: because it's it's impossible and it only makes you feel worse.
Speaker 1: So well, I will definitely take that advice in my life.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I know you have another interview. I'm being
Speaker 1: told we have to wrap it up. Um, I do
Speaker 1: want to plug the show Beyond the Edge, Yes, and
Speaker 1: April the Worst cook starts. You want to talk about
Speaker 1: that really quick before you have to go. You know what,
Speaker 1: Beyond the Edge was amazing, talk about another incredibly pivotal
Speaker 1: time in my life. I'm not kidding. This was a
Speaker 1: life changing experience for me. Um, going out there and
Speaker 1: surviving in the jungle. Um, you know you you watched
Speaker 1: the show and I just wish the physical pain, like
Speaker 1: you could feel what it felt like out there. Um,
Speaker 1: it was one of the hardest things I've ever done
Speaker 1: in my life. Is it out. Yes it's uh. The
Speaker 1: fourth episode airs tonight, uh on Wednesday's nine pm. I
Speaker 1: think tonight is at ten pm, UM, but yeah it is. UM.
Speaker 1: It's a pretty incredible journey that I am forever grateful
Speaker 1: for because it really changed a lot of my perspective
Speaker 1: on things. UM. And then Worst Cooks was really fun. Um.
Speaker 1: I am not a great cook, but I'm great ordering
Speaker 1: take out. Yeah. So I was really excited for the
Speaker 1: opportunity to play for Girls Inc. For both of these shows, UM,
Speaker 1: which is a really wonderful organization that builds up wrong
Speaker 1: powerful leadership and young women. UM. And I got to
Speaker 1: learn how to cook and be taught by professional chefs.
Speaker 1: And let me tell you, that's this stressful. It is
Speaker 1: a lot to take in and it's super stressful. UM.
Speaker 1: But I I was really proud of myself. I'm proud
Speaker 1: that I took on that challenge of something that I
Speaker 1: didn't think I was good at. I like to challenge
Speaker 1: myself to do I think I might not be able
Speaker 1: to do and be like, why don't you try it?
Speaker 1: Just see. Yeah, that's how I fought with Dancing with
Speaker 1: the Stars. I'm like, I don't know if I can dance,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna try and see what happen. It's you
Speaker 1: know what, why not like? And and again that's kind
Speaker 1: of the you know, there is no perfect, there's no like.
Speaker 1: Just go for it, just try and do it if
Speaker 1: you can and be on the edge. Has also really
Speaker 1: tapped into that spirit a lot and been able to
Speaker 1: kind of show who I am and so I'm really
Speaker 1: grateful for that. Um, but yeah, it's been a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. I've been. I've been very busy and shooting
Speaker 1: two other holiday movies that I just finished last week,
Speaker 1: and um, that's awesome. It's been really busy. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be hopefully directing some soon as well. So um, yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1: I'm happy to hear your booked and busy, and thank
Speaker 1: you so much for coming on, Jody, and I hope
Speaker 1: I see you soon. I'm about to talk to you.