Candace Cameron Bure and Valeri Bure have cracked the code to a long-lasting marriage, recently celebrating their milestone 30th anniversary.
“Without our faith, I don’t think we would have the marriage the way it is today. That’s kind of our secret, and the way that we approach everything,” Valeri, 52, exclusively told Us during a joint interview with Candace, 50, in celebration of passing selection on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5. “Our family is very important to us, and our faith is important. That’s what brings us all together.”
And with their shared foundation of faith, Valeri also joked that there’s another secret to their happy and loving union.
“Is it PG or not? I have a couple secrets, and our kids do not want to hear those secrets,” he quipped to Us, while Candace chimed in to add, “He’s funny. Makes me laugh.”
Candace gushed that her husband’s humor is “the best thing,” adding that she and Valeri crack up about “all the dumb little things” constantly.
“That’s just the best part because I think you have to laugh in life,” she said. “So to have your best friend that continues to make you laugh is great.”
Valeri, meanwhile, shared that he appreciates learning something new about Candace daily and how she “continues to change.”
“That’s the fun part about it, is that our journeys continue to go forward and not be like, ‘Oh my gosh, OK, you’re the same person that you were 30 years ago,’” he said.
In their more than three decades together, Candace and Valeri have raised three children — daughter Natasha, 28, and sons Lev, 26, and Maksim, 24 — and are now navigating the new world of grandparenthood. (Lev and wife Elliott Bure welcomed son Bond Leo in September while Natasha and husband Bradley Steven Perry announced the arrival of daughter Winnie in October.)
“Candace is a baby hogger. She is the worst. I would hold my grandkid and she would run up and just start taking it away and I’m like, ‘Stop, stop!’ I’m like, ‘This is my turn to hold the baby.’ So, I’ve learned that she is a baby hogger. She’s taking it away from me,” Valeri joked to Us.
Candace agreed with her husband’s assessment. “It’s true. I do. But the kids have all said, like, ‘What happened to you? Who’s become a softie?’” she said. “They’re like, ‘This is not our papa that we grew up with. Who is this person?’”
“I’m like, ‘Why is your baby crying? Give it to me. Baby should not be crying,’” Valeri said, while Candace added, “I know. And our kids it’s like, ‘Nope, they gotta cry it out. Gotta cry it out.’ No crying for the grandbabies.”
While embracing their new chapter as grandparents, Candace is also celebrating passing selection on Special Forces season 5 alongside Collin Gosselin and Alexia Umansky. Before being crowned one of the newest winners, Candace got emotional in interrogation about the dynamics in her marriage — sharing that she felt like a “beta” living with an “alpha.” Looking back, Candace shared that she felt like it was “an interesting comment” because the interrogation interviews “are so long.”
“And then they’re cut down to this 30 second clip or this one-minute clip, and it doesn’t quite paint the full story,” she explained to Us. “But we are great partners. I would say that we both lead in what we’re good at leading in and what we’re kind of meant to do. I feel so protected and loved by Val and that’s what I want. I don’t want to lead people on a mission and have to yell. I am not a protector in that way.”
Candace, however, thinks she does “very well” leading in more of a “nurturing” and “quiet” way.
“We need leaders that lead in different ways. Every type of leader has a place, but not every leader is the most commanding person. I don’t know, that’s what I think. I wish that was told in the interview because that’s kind of what we talked about, but you didn’t get to see it all,” she said, while Valeri added with a laugh, “They cut it … She’ll write a book about it.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test is streaming now on Hulu.
