The Truth About Bob Saget's Friendship With The Olsen Twins

Our favorite TV dad, Danny Tanner, played by Bob Saget, entered our homes each TGIF on ABC thanks to "Full House" and taught most of us at home some valuable lessons like sharing with your siblings and communicating when you are having issues. 

The sitcom father was in the midst of raising three young daughters after his wife passed, and the actor had a great relationship on and off the screen with his pint-size co-stars.

Many viewers may not be aware that Saget was extremely close to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who played Michelle Tanner. The two were just babies when the show started and switched out playing the role when one was tired or cranky. Sadly, when the show came back as a reboot titled "Fuller House," the Olsen twins were nowhere to be found as they decided they did not want to go down memory lane with the rest of the cast.

While many of the original cast members made a return to the 2016 reboot, the twins were noticeably absent. But Bob Saget made sure to still speak highly of his TV daughter. 

In an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast, he touched on his personal relationship with the Olsen twins. Fans naturally thought that there might have been some bad blood or issues between the rest of the cast and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen but, Saget put those rumblings to ease, saying, "Ashley and Mary-Kate, I love so much. When I'm in New York or when they're here, when we can, we see each other. Ashley and Mary-Kate are more like friends because I kind of got the whole thing of everything they're about."

When the host asked who he got along with the best between Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie Tanner), Candace Cameron Bure (DJ Tanner), or the twins, he quipped, "Whoever I was with at the moment, just like my own kids," (via Today). Saget even shared that he remained extremely close with  Bure and that they had been tight since the pilot episode.

According to Newsweek, there was a simple reason why the Olsen twins didn't want to participate in the second coming of the popular show.

Producer Bob Boyett shared that he had a conversation with the two stars explaining, "Ashley said, 'I have not been in front of a camera since I was 17, and I don't feel comfortable acting.' Mary-Kate said, 'It would have to be me because Ash doesn't want to do it. But the timing is so bad for us." Who knew two of the most popular actors of the 90s could have stage fright so late in life?

Despite all the actresses have been through, they are still close to most of their "Full House" family. John Stamos, who played Uncle Jesse, and Dave Coulier, who played Uncle Joey, commented on their absence. Coulier shared, per Vulture, that the Olsens are "family members. But I think they have a different perspective. When we get together, and we reminisce, they were babies [at the time]. So they don't share those same memories. I can't really speak for them, but I would understand why they don't have the same sentiments that we all do." 

Bob Saget shared a special bond with Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen and was supportive of their acting work outside of "Full House." In fact, he even made cameo appearances in two of their films. The actor appeared in 1992's "To Grandmother's House We Go," and then followed that up with an appearance in the twin's final movie, "New York Minute," in 2004 (per The Sun). "We thought it would be really funny," Ashley told Extra (via E! News). "We thought it would bring back memories for other people with watching 'Full House.'"

And Ashley and Mary-Kate showed up for their television dad, attending his Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine fundraiser throughout the years. The annual event benefitted the Scleroderma Research Foundation, a cause close to Saget's heart since his sister, Gay, suffered from the autoimmune disease until she passed away. And even when they couldn't be there in person, they found ways to show they cared.

"They donated some wonderful items from [their fashion company] The Row," Saget explained to Us Weekly when the ladies couldn't make it to the event in 2018. "They're always incredibly generous and I'll see them in L.A. We make a point of seeing each other at least once or twice a year."

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are mourning the loss of Bob Saget, who passed away suddenly at the age of 65. "Bob was the most loving, compassionate and generous man. We are deeply saddened that he is no longer with us but know that he will continue to be by our side to guide us as gracefully as he always has," they said in a statement, according to People. "We are thinking of his daughters, wife and family and are sending our condolences."

The Olsen twins aren't the only "Full House" cast members who are dealing with Saget's death. "I am broken. I am gutted," John Stamos tweeted. "I am in complete and utter shock. I will never ever have another friend like him. I love you so much Bobby."

And Jodie Sweetin posted on Instagram that "there aren't enough words to express what I'm feeling today. Nor are they big enough to capture even a slice of who he was." She continued, "One thing I do know, is that we never missed a chance to tell each other, 'I love you'. Every time we talked, there were at least 3 or 4 exchanged at the end of a conversation, whether it was text, phone call or in person. And he usually had to have the last word, 'I love you more...'"