What Really Happened Between Paula Abdul And John Stamos?

They're the early '90s couple that will have you asking, "What ever happened to predictability?" Future "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul was America's sweetheart and "Full House" star John Stamos was the bad boy of evening TV with his Elvis hair and leather vests. But you know what they say: "Opposites Attract."

In 2015, the Lifetime movie "The Unauthorized Full House Story" reminded viewers that Stamos and Abdul used to date. The exes were portrayed by singer Justin Gaston, who famously dated Miley Cyrus, and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" actor Lisa Marie DiGiacinto. In a scene that was seemingly meant to illustrate where they each stood in the pop culture hierarchy at the time, a reporter asked Stamos, "John, what's it like to be dating Paula Abdul? You're still on that kids' show, right?" (via People). How "Cold Hearted" is that?

Interestingly, Abdul had a small role to play in the plot of the "Full House" episode "Viva Las Joey." While pretending to be Joey's personal secretary and trying to think of a fake name on the fly during a phone call, Candace Cameron Bure's character, D.J. Tanner, looks at the posters of Abdul and Janet Jackson on her wall and comes up with "Janet Abdul." Around the time the episode aired in 1990, Stamos was dating the "Straight Up" singer — but he says he was nowhere near as cool as his "Full House" character when they were together.

When Paula Abdul took John Stamos as her date to the 1990 Grammys, she looked like the life of the party. She commanded attention in a gold Bob Mackie minidress with cutouts on the waist, topping her fly look with a matching scrunchie and funky high pony. But in a March 1990 interview with People, Stamos revealed that the Hollywood nightlife scene wasn't really their thing. "We both go to bed early, and we both have horrible allergies," he said. "I think we discovered we're both a couple of geeks."

While he painted a picture of domestic bliss, Abdul downplayed the seriousness of their relationship. "I don't want to make too much out of it," she said. "It's been just a couple dates, that's it." But Abdul was by Stamos' side during some of the actor's most memorable moments of his early career, such as when he met Frank Sinatra. His good friend, comedian Don Rickles, was doing a show with Sinatra, and Stamos brought Abdul as his date. In a joint appearance with Stamos on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Rickles gave Stamos a good ribbing over the romance. "That was the first girl you were in heat for," he quipped. Stamos also fondly remembered having dinner with Elton John and Abdul because the "Cold Heart" and "Cold Hearted" singers were such good friends. "I was so excited, it was so cool," he told E!

John Stamos seemed pretty smitten with Paula Abdul when they were together. While talking to MTV News about her successful freshman album, "Forever Your Girl," in 1990, he boasted, "She sings it for me live, so I don't need the record." But their relationship lasted only seven months. Abdul's future husband, Emilio Estevez, started calling her while she was still with Stamos, according to People, but apparently the "Full House" star wasn't heartbroken when his ex moved on. While chatting about his relationship with Abdul on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2009, Stamos said, "It's so funny, because I sort of forgot [about it]" (via Bustle). But once his memory was jogged, he only had lovely things to say about his ex. "She was so adorable, and she was America's sweetheart," Stamos gushed. "People were literally knocking me down to get to her! We had the time of our lives."

When the pair reunited in 2015, they posed for a photo together that Stamos shared on Instagram with the caption, "Cold Hearted Snake and America's sweetheart. Together again and it feels so good." However, on "Watch What Happens Live," Stamos clarified that Abdul's song "Cold Hearted" is not about him. "We're still good friends," he said. Abdul returned the love when she met up with Stamos at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016, posting a photo of the two sharing a warm hug on Facebook.