John Stamos was in “overwhelming” agony after allegedly catching his ex-girlfriend Teri Copley in bed with Tony Danza in the 1980s.
“I can’t explain it, but I would’ve rather been punched in the nose again or something because the pain is so overwhelming,” the “Full House” star writes in his forthcoming memoir, “If You Would Have Told Me,” in an excerpt published by People.
Stamos, 60, describes Copley’s unfaithfulness as “physically painful” and “worse than anything.”
Looking back, the actor admits that the model, now 62, probably “wasn’t the right girl” for him. But realizing that she had cheated on him with Danza, 72, was the nail in the coffin.
“Seeing him, realizing it was him and stuff, it was hard. I mean, it was awful,” Stamos writes.
In his book, the sitcom star recalls the moment he walked in on his then-girlfriend asleep in bed with the “Taxi” actor, whom he didn’t immediately recognize.
Stamos saw the man’s “ripped abs” and was completely “breathless” as he stumbled backward out of the room.
“At first I was like, ‘I’m going to kick his …’ I didn’t know it was [Danza] yet. I see his abs. I’m like, ‘Maybe not. F— it.’ And I ran,” he writes. “But I remember running down the driveway with tears streaming down my face and I didn’t want anyone to see me.”
Stamos didn’t come to realize Copley was in bed with Danza until he drove off in tears.
“I jump in the El Co, start the car, and Elton John is still singing, and that’s when it hits me,” he writes, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I mouth the words to his most famous lyrics and realize the name of my rival: ‘Hold me closer, Tony Danza. . . .’”
“It took me a long time to get over that,” Stamos told People.
However, Copley insists she and Stamos had already split before he walked in on her with Danza.
“I wondered, ‘What was John doing there?’ because we had broken up,” she told the magazine. “He just looked at me and shook his head and walked away.”
Despite the incident, Stamos believes Copley is “a nice person.”
“I mean, it wasn’t right to cheat on me, but I was too immature; I wasn’t a man,” he told People. “I didn’t become a man for a long time and I think she was… I don’t know. I was broken.”
He also said he decided to include the story in his memoir because he wanted to share “relatable things that happened” in his life with his fans.
“I think everybody thinks, like, ‘Oh, this guy’s got no problems. I’m sure he’s never been cheated on,’” he told the publication.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, she left me because I don’t have enough money,’ or ‘I’m not good-looking,’ or this and that. And then you look at me and I go, ‘Well, he had all those things.’
“People are s–tty. And it’s life.”
These days, Stamos believes that karma came back around in his favor and that “Full House” had major success because Danza’s hit show “Who’s the Boss” came before it, making way for sitcoms to thrive.
“Back then you go, ‘Life isn’t fair.’ And then, ‘Oh, wait a minute. It got evened out,’” he said. “I honestly believe if we didn’t follow his show in the summer, that would’ve been one and done for that show, ‘Full House.’”
Stamos went on to marry Rebecca Romijn in 1998, but they divorced contentiously in 2005. He then wed his current wife, Caitlin McHugh, in 2018.
He and McHugh, 37, share 5-year-old son Billy.
Stamos’ tome, in which he also reveals he was sexually assaulted by his babysitter, hits stores on Tuesday.
