Special Forces contestant Candace Cameron Bure is opening up about the backlash she’s received over her beliefs.
In Us‘ exclusive first look at the Thursday, October 29, episode of the Fox show, instructor Jovon “Q” Quarles urges Cameron Bure, 50, to push forward in a challenge, saying, “All of those times the media was attacking you about your beliefs, use that [anger].”
Cameron Bure, for her part, has stood by her values.
“People have called me every four-letter word in the book. Horrible and nasty things,” she says in the sneak peek. “I wanted to throw a punch at people, but that is just not my nature.”
Earlier this season, Cameron Bure got emotional when she struggled to take on a leadership position.
“Honestly, the more I keep thinking about this, I’m really good at taking directions,” she said in an October episode. “I’ve been taking direction my whole life just being a kid actor. And then I met my husband [Valeri Bure] at 18 and he was 20. And my husband leads. He’s a professional athlete and he’s an Olympian.”
The actress questioned whether she could take charge in her life.
“I live with an alpha and I am a beta,” she added. “He does everything for me because he’s a good leader.”
Cameron Bure continued, “I realized today, I don’t lead at all. I don’t feel confident in my voice. … I do have a spirit in me and so at this age, I really wanted to see if I could push it. I want to step up.”
Before Special Forces premiered in September, Cameron Bure spoke to Us about how she “cried way more than” she thought she would while competing on the show.
“Especially in public, on television. I don’t even know what we’re gonna watch back. I might be cowering and so embarrassed to see what’s gonna happen. I don’t really know,” she shared at the time. “But those interrogations were actually scary. I didn’t know the Directing Staff well, and they have such a presence and they are really all beautiful people. But in the moment, you’re in this fight or flight stage, and it’s just scary. So I cried a whole lot.”
Cameron Bure was grateful for the lessons she learned from Special Forces.
“My biggest takeaway was that I was not as good of a teammate as I hoped I would be. You are fighting for your life out there and when you get put in those situations, it’s fight or flight. You either stand up to it or you want to run. That’s the emotional reaction that most people have,” she explained. “I realize, like, I’m a flyer. Yet you have other people to care for, and that’s where I got really disappointed with myself that I let my fear get the best of me, but that also meant not just for me, but for the other people that I was with.”
She added, “So I came home from the experience having learned that I could be a better teammate and just apply that to life. I could apply that at home with my husband, as a mom to my kids and as a friend to my friends’ relationships. So, I’m glad that I did the show.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
