Danica McKellar and Candace Cameron Bure were both making headlines a couple of years ago when they left Hallmark for GAF, but their friendship has weathered more than a network change over the years. The two have been pals for decades, and Bure was even a catalyst for McKellar finding religion; they’ve also worked together in the rom-com and Christmas movies space. But at the start of their acquaintance there was a bit more friction. In fact, I just learned the two TV stars were actually involved in a love triangle decades ago, and a Growing Pains actor was involved.
The Story Behind The Love Triangle Bure And McKellar Inadvertently Got Involved In
Back in the the late ‘80s, Growing Pains was a big deal. One of the stars of the series, Jeremy Miller, was a young teen at the time who knew both Bure and McKellar -- and were interested in both young ladies to boot. Danica McKellar revealed how the three of them got involved in a love triangle and it all had to do with a little scheme Miller seemingly had going.
So, in 1989, I believe it was, there was this party that a teen magazine was putting on and ["Growing Pains" star] Jeremy Miller, who was also a young actor, he was at this party. I was there, and Candace was there. and he asked me to be his girlfriend. And I was like, ‘Yes!’ And I didn't know at the time, but I guess Candace thought that she and Jeremy were dating.
Stone cold move, Jeremy! The actress did quickly clarify to Fox News this was “so silly” and did not happen when they were grownups but when they were still child stars going to meet and greets and other events in Hollywood. She was in middle school at the time, but she says there is a reason it still rubs a little: She didn’t find out he was dating both women until years later.
But I found out years later on Dancing with the Stars, I found out that she was like, ‘Oh, we were dating. I'm like, What?’ So, Jeremy, tsk tsk, not good. But luckily my friendship with Candace has survived just fine.
In fact, after making appearances together during their Wonder Years and Full House years growing up, the two actresses have continued to cross paths. Both appeared on DWTS in 2014 and despite Bure taking a lengthy acting break, both went on to star in flicks on the Hallmark schedule in the years after. The two left that network at similar times for GAF, heading there after Hallmark started catering toward inclusion.
Jeremy Miller Recalls This Story As Being More On The Up And Up
While both ladies look back at their middle school years and feel they were maybe played a little by the Growing Pains star, he doth protest a little bit. He explained the story to OWN a while back, revealing he did date Candace Cameron Bure, and grew interested in McKellar. But there’s a big but.
Yes, back in the day, Candace and I were ‘going together,’ you know what I mean? It didn’t go anywhere. We were kids. … We saw each other on the set; she’d come with the family and stuff to visit us while we were working. We’d see each other at parties for Growing Pains, stuff like that. … I met Danica around that time. We were doing an event for Teen Beat Magazine. I was pretty smitten from Day 1. She was a couple of years older than me at that point, and she had no interest in me whatsoever. But that did not deter me.
In fact, he made it very clear he broke things off with the Full Actress before pursuing TV’s own Winnie Cooper. He had a whole scheme to get her to go on a date, given she was nearly 14 and he was only 12 at the time. The Dark Knight himself was involved.
I broke up with Candace and started pursuing Danica. Again, she wanted nothing to do with me. But even at that young age, I knew what I was doing a little bit. That was 1988 and Batman was coming out and I called up my people at Warner Bros. and said, ‘You gotta get me two tickets. I need them now!’ And they did. I asked her if she wanted to go to the premiere with me, rented a limo, came and picked her up.
He also called Danica McKellar his first real “dating” relationship, noting that with Bure they were both so young it was more about hanging out with one another on each others’ respective sets with parents and co-stars around. He and McKellar were able to do real activities together and have more alone time, including getting ice cream and talking for hours. But he says he knew he “broke Candace’s heart” at the time and admitted it became, perhaps, “a little bit of a love triangle.”
Young love, amiright? The three have certainly all moved on in the time since, with Miller marrying a woman named Joanie he says lovely things about on Instagram. Candace Cameron Bure’s been married to former hockey player Val Bure since 1996 and they share three children together. Danica McKellar has been married to Scott Sveslosky since 2014 and has a child from her previous marriage to Mike Verta. Young love may not have lasted, but they all ended up doing pretty well for themselves.