"Full House" star Candace Cameron Bure did not have any body issues growing up, and strangely enough, it was only when she wrapped up the popular family sitcom in the 90s that she started to develop an eating disorder.
Bure tells PEOPLE Magazine that transitioning from being a working girl into a wife and mother really threw her out of the loop.
"The change of having worked since I was five years old to now becoming a wife and soon-to-be mom, and living in a city where I didn't have family and friends around me, I kind of lost the sense of who I was," she confesses.
Her husband Valeri Bure, who is a former ice hockey player, had a demanding schedule and would play 41 games out of 82 during hockey season, leaving Bure alone in their house.
"I sat lonely so many nights not knowing what to do with myself," she recalls. "But there was always one friend that was always there, that was so readily available anytime I wanted, and that for me was food."
At first, food comforted Bure a great deal. But then, she would feel guilty about binge eating so she would start purging.
"It became a very destructive relationship, and it was one that really caught me off guard," she says. "And without even knowing, it soon just took over to a point where you feel such a loss of control."
Embarrassed about her disorder, Bure kept it a secret from friends and family. Her father caught her in the end, and that was when she decided to stop binging and purging.
The road to recovery wasn't easy for Bure, and there were several times she slipped and reverted back to old habits. But thanks to her faith in God and the support given by family and friends, Bure conquered her eating disorder.
"It was never about the weight for me," she reflects. "It was an emotional issue."
Now, the mother of three feels contented with her body and does not feel the need to binge and purge. "I've never felt more confident," she says. "Each year that I get older, I feel better and better, and more confident about my body and the woman that I am."
