Candace Cameron Bure's Husband Had A Bigger Role In Her Departure From Hallmark Than You Might Think

Actors' careers don't always last a lifetime. Some famous performers have given up show business to escape the pressures of Hollywood, while others have retired due to ill health or a desire to pursue other interests. Candace Cameron Bure, famous for her Hallmark Christmas movies, almost joined that list of former actors, but for a very different reason. In a recent episode of "Candace Cameron Bure: The Podcast," the "Full House" alum shared her unexpected story with actress and evangelist Priscilla Shirer.

Shirer opened up about the dilemma she faced while making the Christian film "War Room." Although the drama was hardly NSFW material — she played a woman whose prayers help her husband turn his life around — Shirer's real-life husband didn't like the thought of her working so closely with another man. (Some conservative Christians, such as the Duggar family and former VP Mike Pence, avoid any hint of intimacy with anyone of the opposite sex.) The directors resolved the issue by letting her co-star's actual wife be the stand-in for any scenes involving hand-holding or other physical contact.

As a veteran of holiday romances, Bure knows the situation all too well: "In all of the movies that I do, there's always one kiss at the end. We all look forward to the kiss at the end," she said. Everyone, that is, except Bure's husband of nearly 30 years. Even knowing that the love scenes are as phony as the fake snow on set, Valeri Bure isn't crazy about seeing his wife getting cozy with another man on-screen. "We've had those struggles and a lot of conversation and prayer, and I had that exact same moment when I thought, 'I think this is it. I think I have to give this up,'" she revealed.

Candace Cameron Bure left the Hallmark Channel in 2023 to join rival GAC Family (now Great American Family) as both an actor and producer. The opportunity to move to an executive position was part of her decision, she explained, along with the ability to "develop heartwarming and faith-filled programming" and "compelling, wholesome content" with "traditional marriage at its core" (via Us Weekly). Though Bure didn't say so directly, the message was clear: Hallmark's decision to include LGBTQ+ characters and storylines was at odds with her personal religious beliefs. Her good friend Danica McKellar, pictured above, is among the actors who ditched Hallmark for Great American Family for similar reasons.

However, Bure would still be making romance films at her new studio, and she worried about what effect this would have on her relationship with her husband, Valeri. She asked God to help guide her to the best decision, hoping it wouldn't mean giving up acting but realizing it might. Those prayers were answered one day when Bure told Valeri she'd been offered a new project. She recalled telling him, "'[B]ut I'm not going to do it, because there's a kiss at the end and I know that makes you unhappy, and I don't want to dishonor our marriage.'" That moment helped Valeri realize the sacrifice his wife was willing to make for his sake. "He said, 'I can handle it. ... I don't want to be the reason that you don't pursue the talents God's given you and give up your career.'"

With that understanding, the Bures came to a compromise that satisfied them both. Candace sticks to her agreement not to do anything more intimate in her films than the climactic smooch, and Valeri simply opts not to watch any of the love-story flicks.