John Stamos’ journey with alcohol addiction has been long, filled with many ups and downs. But there was one particular moment in his journey that made him actually get clean — and stay that way.
In his debut memoir, If you had told mecomes out on October 24, the Full house alum details the many downsides of his alcohol addiction — and how sobriety shaped him long-term.
“I had to get sober. I was just drinking too much,” Stamos, 60, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “I just got low. I didn’t get high. I just surrounded myself with people I shouldn’t have been around.”
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For Stamos, his headline-grabbing DUI in 2015 proved to be the tipping point in his addiction.
“I had that DUI and I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I have to get straightened out,'” he recalls. “Then I confused the universe because I’m not a bad person, but I did nasty things.”
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Pictured is John Stamos’ memoir, ‘If You Told Me’.
Jeff Lipsky
Stamos eventually entered rehab, which he admits was “a little dark.” But he notes that “it started to get better” and later he “made a lot of really good friends.”
“A lot was waiting for me and I feel bad because many people don’t do it, because they burned their lives,” he adds. “Fortunately, I had my sisters, but so did I a fuller house. I came home and I think a week later we started a fuller house.”
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John Stamos at the Emmy Awards in September 2015.
Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media/Getty
Now, after being sober for a while, General Hospital The alum credits his wife, Caitlin McHugh Stamos, and their 5-year-old son, Billy, with helping him stay on this path of sobriety and positivity.
“They kept me on this path because going down the road of sobriety and self-care, everybody’s trying. Everybody’s doing it. You might get going for a while. Then, it’s like, ‘I can drink again,’ ” he says. “So it’s staying on track that they mostly do for me.”
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(LR) Pictured are John Stamos, Billy Stamos and Caitlin McHugh Stamos.
John Stamos/Instagram
For more on John Stamos, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday, or subscribe here.
As for whether he’s had any downs over the years, Stamos says he’s “been pretty good.”
“It’s hard, but it’s not because it’s hard for many people,” he explains. – It’s not that difficult for me because it’s still so fresh in my head that I just need to look at that picture of me in handcuffs on that street.
“I was sitting on the curb or whatever. It just makes me want to throw up just thinking about it [about it]”, he adds. “Never again.”
If you had told me is available for pre-order ahead of its October 24th release.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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Source: HIS Education