Jerry O'Connell is sharing new details about the much-buzzed-about selfie he snapped with fellow actor John Stamos last year. The photo, which O'Connell shared to Instagram in November, shows him posing alongside his wife Rebecca Romijn's ex-husband at comedian Howie Mandel's 70th birthday celebration in Van Nuys, California. Appearing between the two men in the photo was Stamos' current wife, Caitlin McHugh.
Initial Tension and Approach
Appearing on SiriusXM's "Andy Cohen Live" this week, O'Connell seemed to acknowledge there was a bit of uncomfortable tension between the two men at first, given their history. "I was like, 'I got to make a beeline for him. I got to go extend my hand.' So I went, I saw him," he recalled. "I said, 'Hey man, how are you? It's so good to see you.' I just gave him, went in for a hug and I'm trying to figure out what I can say without upsetting John and starting a beef here."
Breaking the Ice with Humor
Ultimately, O'Connell said he was able to lighten the mood a bit by cracking "some self-deprecating jokes," and that the pair spoke for about 20 minutes before snapping the photo, which he captioned with a winking reference to President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. "I made sure his new wife was there. You want everyone to feel included," he explained, before offering some presumably tongue-in-cheek examples of his comedic flair: "I whispered to him when I hugged him, 'She says you're bigger than me. Do you want her back?' I whispered, 'She says Greeks are better lovers.'"
Background of the Strained Relationship
Romijn married O'Connell in 2007, about two years after her split from Stamos. Stamos and McHugh have been married since 2018. The frosty relationship between O'Connell and Stamos appears to stem from comments Stamos made about Romijn in his 2023 memoir, "If You Would Have Told Me." Describing his seven-year marriage to Romijn as "shattering," he told People at the time, "In my mind back then, she was the Devil, and I just hated her. I couldn't believe how much I hated her, and it ruined my life." Not long afterward, Stamos appeared on "The Howard Stern Show," where he acknowledged feeling "emasculated" by his ex.
O'Connell's Previous Response and Stamos' Evolving Views
Later that same year, O'Connell responded to the chatter around Stamos' book while appearing on "The Talk," saying he'd made a conscious decision to avoid addressing the "Full House" actor's remarks because "it will be bringing attention to a situation that I don't want to feed into." Stamos' stance on his past marriage seems to have softened with time. Appearing on the "Really Good Podcast" earlier this month, the actor admitted his split from Romijn "broke my heart," and added: "I didn't want to get divorced. She wanted to. It took me a long time to get over it."
O'Connell's Vigilance on Romijn's Media Presence
Elsewhere in his "Andy Cohen Live" chat, O'Connell said he has "my finger on the pulse" whenever Romijn's name is in the news, even though his wife tends to be less tuned in. "I usually come home and go, 'Honey, John Stamos, who you loved for many years. He was on a podcast and said some stuff. Would you like to listen to it?'" he explained. "And my wife usually says, 'Yeah, let's listen. Is it anything bad?' And I go, 'I don't think so.' And we sit down and listen to it."
