Who Is John Stamos’ Wife? All About Caitlin McHugh

John Stamos has been a heartthrob since his early days on General Hospital, but the only person who’s stolen his heart is his wife, Caitlin McHugh.

The Fuller House star married McHugh in February 2018 — two months before they welcomed their son, Billy. Stamos, who has struggled with alcohol addiction in the past, has credited his wife and son for keeping him on a “new path,” and bringing him a renewed sense of joy in life.

“They have kept me on this path because going down the road of being sober and taking care of yourself, everybody tries. Everybody does it,” Stamos exclusively told PEOPLE ahead of the release of his memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, in October 2023. “You could get going for a little while. Then it’s like, ‘I can drink again.’ So it’s staying on the path is what they mostly do for me.”

He added that though McHugh is 23 years his junior, he’s “learned a lot” from her, including broadening his political views and doing more charitable work.

“Being older with someone younger, you go, all right, you know everything and they need to listen to me. But I’m always learning something from her,” he shared. “What I love about our household with Billy is there’s always political conversations going on or charity events.”

He continued, “The other day I was listening to some political book or something. I was like, ‘I never used to care about this.’ And she said, ‘That’s because of me.’ But she brightens up the house. And it’s not just political talk, it’s being a good human talk.”

So who is John Stamos’ wife? Here’s everything to know about Caitlin McHugh and her relationship with the actor.

She is an actress

McHugh made her acting debut in 2007’s I Am Legend and appeared in a handful of episodes of various network TV shows since, including Castle, The Vampire Diaries and Switched at Birth.

She also worked on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2011 opposite Stamos.

“I played a guy who was so egotistical that he thought he should spread his progeny, so he had like 60 kids or something,” Stamos told PEOPLE in 2017. “He was poking holes in condoms and stuff. And Caitlin, ironically, was one of the girls that I was trying to fool and have a baby with.”

She has her own podcast

In addition to her acting career, McHugh hosts a podcast called How Can I Help?, where she “finds nonprofits, businesses, and individuals who are making a positive impact in the world and she figures out how to help their causes.”

“When I grew up, my mom was really into charity and giving back and stuff, but Caitlin, she had a podcast called, How Can I Help? And tomorrow, she’s going to Tijuana to help the kids,” Stamos told PEOPLE in 2023. “I just love that in our house and I love for Billy to see that.”

She was engaged when she first met Stamos

After the two met on Law & Order: SVU, Stamos wrote in his memoir that he had a “crush” on the actress and even asked her to leave her fiancé for him. Though she declined, he didn’t lose hope.

“She was in another relationship. And we just met back up again,” Stamos recalled to PEOPLE. “Her roommate was on an episode of Fuller House, and so she was in the audience. I walked in, I went, ‘Hey, are you stalking me?’ She was like, ‘No.’ … That’s why I love her. She’s like, ‘What? No. I haven’t thought of you twice.’ ”

Stamos then learned that McHugh was divorced and dating again, and he made his move. Six months later, the couple moved in together.

Stamos proposed in October 2017

Stamos proposed to McHugh in Disneyland on Oct. 23, 2017. During the elaborate proposal, the pair first watched a compilation of romantic moments from Pixar and Disney movies. He ended the display with a moment from The Little Mermaid encouraging him to “just ask the girl.”

He did indeed ask, and McHugh was quick to say yes.

“She loves Disneyland and [at the park], I got on my knee and asked her,” Stamos said. “I pulled the ring out. I don’t know how she did it, but she went to hug me and slipped her finger right in it. When the park closed, we ran around the park in our Disney onesies.”

McHugh also announced the happy news on her Instagram, posting a photo of her and Stamos kissing. “I kissed the boy and said…yes!” she wrote in the caption. “That’s what you do when the sweetest, most romantic Prince Charming treats you like a princess and asks you to be his 💍.”

The sweet proposal came after the couple learned they were expecting a baby. “The [pregnancy] happened. Then I said, I better have a ring on her finger because it’s the right thing to do, and I wanted to marry her anyway,” Stamos told PEOPLE in December 2017. “So I called her parents to ask, and it was like, ‘You better!’ “

They got married in February 2018

Just four months after getting engaged, Stamos and McHugh tied the knot on Feb. 3, 2018, in an intimate ceremony at Little Brown Church in Studio City, California. The bride wore a strapless gown with a tulle skirt.

“They exchanged wows in front of family and close friends,” a source close to the couple told PEOPLE. “It was a very touching ceremony. There were tears, but mostly smiles. John and Caitlin looked very happy.”

The night before the ceremony, however, was not as happy of an occasion as McHugh’s hotel room at the Beverly Hills Hotel was burglarized and approximately $165,000 worth of jewelry was stolen. Neither McHugh nor Stamos were in the room when the crime occurred.

She and Stamos welcomed their son shortly after their wedding

The actor told PEOPLE in December that he “always wanted to be a dad,” but didn’t think it would happen for him. McHugh shared that Stamos’ reaction to the happy news was “priceless.”

“The look on John’s face when I told him we were pregnant was priceless,” she recalled. “It was the look of a man who has wanted a family of his own but wasn’t sure it was going to happen for him. Now it is!”

After welcoming their baby boy together, Stamos has since talked about what a joy their son is and how “mischievous” he is growing up to be.

“He’s so charming and people come up to him and say, ‘Oh, my God, you’re so handsome. You’re so charming,’ ” Stamos told PEOPLE in October 2023. “I’m like, ‘Don’t tell him.’ “

However, another kid doesn’t seem to be “in the cards” for the couple, even though they previously hoped to expand their family further, they told PEOPLE.

“By the way, [Billy’s] asked for a kid all the time, like a brother or sister. If we take three minutes of not paying attention to him, he goes crazy,” Stamos said.

“He could never deal with a sibling,” the Full House alum continued. “No, I know he couldn’t. He’d like it at first. Oh, there’s a little baby, then me. We got to deal with a kid.”

Stamos credits her for changing his life

McHugh greatly impacted Stamos’ life as he credits her for helping him stay sober and “straightening up [his] life” since his 2015 DUI arrest, which helped motivate him to enter treatment.

“I wasn’t deserving of it yet I think. But six years ago, I sobered up and I became a better person,” he told PEOPLE in August 2021. “And when Caitlin came around, I recognized it immediately. I said, ‘I have to be good for that to make it work.’ “

McHugh added that the two work hard to make sure they prioritize their marriage while still juggling being parents to a young child. Communication and special date nights proved to be essential for the couple, especially when their son was still a toddler.

“I forget what the magic ratio is, but I think it’s about having more positive reactions over negative,” McHugh said. “It’s nice to connect over something else — it’s not always about the kid. We’re still trying to find the balance!”

All of the sleepless nights and chaos ended up being “what I always wanted,” Stamos concluded. “My dreams came true 100 times over.”