John Stamos has been married to his wife, Caitlin McHugh, since 2018. While some Stamos fans may be aware of the couple’s first meeting, he recently opened up in detail about the acting gig that brought them together. Stamos revealed the wild story behind meeting his wife on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, of all shows!
The Full House alum has been busy promoting his memoir If You Would Have Told Me, currently available in bookstores and online. After years of giving little tidbits about their meet-cute, Stamos finally spilled the story about meeting on a now-iconic episode of the long-running crime drama.
How Law And Order: SVU Brought The Couple Together
John Stamos opened up about the tricky and bizarre situation on The Jess Cagle Show. The radio show recalled Stamos appearing in the infamous Law and Order: SVU Season 12 episode “Bang.” Caitlin McHugh also had a small but crucial role in the story. As it turns out, Stamos and his future wife enjoyed a “long texting relationship and friendship” before they became romantic.
At the time, McHugh was engaged to someone else, to which the actor responded, "‘Don't get married.’" He jokingly called himself “an asshole” for telling his future wife to dump her then-fiancé. However, their meeting took place under one of the NBC drama’s most bizarre storylines, so is it any surprise that how they got together was unconventional? The TV icon gave the gist of his ripped-from-the-headlines SVU plot, saying:
I was trying to, on the show, I was a guy who was, yeah. He had like 47 children and they said, ‘You've had 47 children?’ I said, ‘Well, no. There's much more. You haven't checked Europe. I've got a lot of kids up there.’ He was getting women pregnant without them, without their consent. Yeah. He's poking holes and so the scene was that the two detectives Ice T and the other guy come banging on the door and my wife is in there or something pointing to the bathroom, ‘He's in there, he's in there,’ and they kicked my door down and they catch me with a needle and a condom…
Talk about meeting your significant other in an awkward scenario! Stamos played attorney playboy and reproductive abuser Ken Turner in the infamous episode with McHugh playing a potential victim. Not only was he playing a serial impregnator in a top-rated TV series, but McHugh was already engaged to another man.
Things Worked In John Stamos’ Favor
John Stamos played the long game as he and Caitlin McHugh remained friends after filming the iconic Law and Order: SVU episode in 2011. Eventually, things worked out as the actress’s engagement ended, and the duo began dating in 2016. They got engaged in 2017 after dating for a year until Stamos and McHugh married in 2018. Stamos jokingly connected the episode’s storyline to their eventual parenthood. He stated:
…But she was in a relationship, and I was, and then I eventually got her pregnant. Took about seven years, eight years, but then we had Billy.
As odd as the connection is, the Big Shot star wasn’t wrong about the trajectory. Stamos's announcement that his wife was pregnant was touching back in 2017. Of course, his son Billy might not know the complete story of his parents’ meet-cute, but he has become a massive Full House fan.
Maybe when he is older, his parents will let him see the episode and tell the story, but he's not quite SVU age just yet. However, they can share how a mix-up by his dad allowed Bob Saget’s presence to be felt at Jodie Sweetin’s wedding. (Saget also starred in an episode of Law & Order: SVU.)
As for John Stamos, you can watch the Disney adult’s work with the House of Mouse, including Big Shots and Spidey and His Amazing Friends, on Disney+. If you’re feeling more nostalgic, get a Max subscription and watch every season of Full House.
