Candace Cameron Bure Says ‘Challenges’ of Hollywood Prepared Her to Win “Special Forces”: ‘Didn’t Let the Fear Get Me’ (Exclusive)

Julia MooreFri, November 13, 2026 at 10:49 PM UTC

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Candace Cameron Bure on ‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’ season 5Credit: FOX -

Candace Cameron Bure, Alexia Umansky and Collin Gosselin were the three winners of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5

She tells PEOPLE which challenge of the eight-day course in the Malaysian jungle was “the most frightening thing I’ve ever done” and reveals why she “wasn’t impressed” by herself

“I’ve been in the entertainment industry for 45 years and I’ve had my challenges through it, and yet I still push through every time,” she says

Candace Cameron Bure’s competitive streak was on display as she survived eight days in the Malaysian jungle to win Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5.

The Full House alum, 50, was one of three winners, along with Alexia Umansky and Collin Gosselin. “I wanted to finish,” she tells PEOPLE of her mindset going into the show. “But I had given myself permission before I left that I didn’t have to finish. Like, if something is ridiculously dangerous or if I felt like this isn’t safe or [is] uncomfortable, then I was like, you don’t need to do it just for the sake of doing it.”

“But once you get there and you do it, it’s so challenging, it’s so exhausting, and I wanted to stay as long as I could,” she says. “Because I’m actually a very competitive person, and so I knew in my heart I really wanted to [finish].”

Candace Cameron Bure on ‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’Credit: PETE DADDS / FOX

On top of surviving two challenges a day, endless bug bites and being “sleep-deprived,” the actress and former co-host of The View also battled a stomach bug on the second-to-last day.

“I really was in bad shape physically, but I was so determined,” she says of the “terrible” day. “I woke up and I was sick immediately, from both ends, and I was like, ‘I am just going to suck this up. I just hope I don’t have an accident, like in my pants.’”

“The medic actually gave me an Imodium to stop my stomach, which helped a whole lot, so I wouldn’t have an accident, but I was still so fatigued. There were times where David Charvet actually picked me up, and Alycia [Baumgardner] picked me up, because I couldn’t move my body. I felt so sick.”

Still, she says there was never a moment where she considered giving up “because I knew we were so close to the end.”

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The mom of three, who just became a grandmother twice over in the last few months, admits that there were some “very scary” moments during the course.

“The suspension bridge, climbing down that rope ladder to get the parachute and climbing back up — that was the most frightening thing I’ve ever done,” Bure says. “My whole body was shaking so badly. The thought of falling off that ladder, and there’s just nothing below you ... I couldn’t even look down. It was absolutely terrifying, and that was my biggest fear.”

Candace Cameron Bure on ‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’ season 5Credit: FOX

The directing staff (DS) in charge frequently doubted the actress during her time on the course, but in the end, they were more than impressed by her survival and grit. “I wasn’t impressed by myself. Like, I wasn’t at all,” Bure says of not being surprised by her abilities.

“I know what kind of grit I have, and I know what kind of heart I have. I’ve been in the entertainment industry for 45 years and I’ve had my challenges through it, and yet I still push through every time. And, you know, I’m a mom of three grown adults. I’ve been through life. I know how to sustain, how to endure, how to persevere. But doing it in that type of setting, obviously, was something I’ve never experienced.”

She says there was “relief” when it was over that “I didn’t let the fear get me or just bail.”

Candace Cameron Bure on ‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’Credit: FOX

The celebration of the win came when she returned home to her husband, Val. “I said, honey, can you please cook a rib eye for me? I want a loaf of sourdough, and I want a big glass of red wine. And he was like, ‘Yep,’ and he picked me up from the airport and he had dinner ready.”

Season 5 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test is now streaming on Hulu.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”