Jodie Sweetin explains why Olsen twins skipped Fuller House

Jodie Sweetin said the Olsen twins stepped away from “Full House” early in life, shaping a different relationship with life on set. She also recounted why “Fuller House” addressed Michelle’s absence on-screen and insisted the family relationship stayed positiv

When Jodie Sweetin looks back at “Full House,” she doesn’t just remember a hit sitcom. She remembers what it felt like to be on set with children who were already moving on.

Speaking on the “Taboo’s Comics & Kicks” podcast during a June 30 appearance, Sweetin explained why Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen—who played her on-screen sibling for eight seasons on “Full House”—were not part of the 2016 spinoff sequel, “Fuller House.”

“They walked away from all of us at eight years old. Like I had experiences from five to 13, like my formative years. Eight and earlier, you don’t remember all that much,” Sweetin said. She added that the twins “have a different relationship to being on set all the time.”

In “Fuller House,” the show’s writers and cast didn’t ignore the absence. Sweetin said the Tanner family addressed it early, breaking the fourth wall in the first episode to explain that Michelle was off “running a fashion empire in New York,” a reference to the twins’ actual work.

After starring together in a string of movies, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen withdrew from the spotlight to focus on launching The Row, a luxury fashion brand, in 2005. Sweetin said she understood why they wanted distance from attention after their “empire” became so public.

“They’re into fashion. They don’t want attention. Their empire blew up and I don’t, they don’t, want attention and I get it,” Sweetin said. “Like, they had so much and were so invaded and so, for public consumption. I totally understand why they don’t want to do that.”

Sweetin said the show still felt obligated to acknowledge what audiences already knew.

“But we figured we’d toss it out there and be silly. … It’s also like people know. You know what I mean? You have to address it. You can’t just not say anything,” she said.

Even though the twins were not on screen in “Fuller House,” Sweetin framed the situation as something other than a rift.

Just because the Olsen twins weren’t interested in participating in the sequel, she said, it didn’t mean they stopped being family. “I always say this to people [who are like], ‘Oh my god, did they hate it?’ Like, no. We’re still like good, everyone’s on good terms with them,” Sweetin said.

She pointed to timing—being kids when “Full House” ended—and the later paths the twins chose. “But they were eight years old when this show stopped. Then they did all of those movies and all of that stuff that they, I don’t know, that they really loved doing all the time,” she said.

Sweetin said memories of life on the set were different for her than for them. “They might not remember being two years old and having us all carrying them around and doing this stuff, but I do. And I think, they just, that’s not their thing.”

“Fuller House” ran for five seasons and was canceled by Netflix in 2020. The show premiered in February 2016, with Michelle’s absence built into the early storyline—an acknowledgment Sweetin said couldn’t be avoided.

What remains from Sweetin’s explanation is a simple timeline with a human consequence: for the Olsen twins. the period of being immersed in “Full House” ended at eight years old. and the years that followed were shaped by fashion. privacy. and a decision to step away from the kind of visibility that comes with being on set every day.

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