Andrew Walker Reflects on Candace Cameron Bure’s Hallmark Exit: ‘It Was a Good Excuse’

Hallmark’s most popular stars have not held back their criticism over the recent departures from the network. Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell all shared their honest opinions about Candace Cameron Bure’s dramatic exit and her new role at GAC Family.

“I think it was just a good excuse to cover up an opportunity she had somewhere else,” Andrew, 44, told Vulture in an interview published on Tuesday, December 19. “Whether she thought she had it less at Hallmark because she’s an executive now over at Great American Family, I don’t know. That’s the way I took it.”

Tyler, 37, chimed in, adding, “I can’t imagine how complicated or nuanced her relationship was or wasn’t. All I know is, for us, it’s very simple why we’re here. We know what we’re doing. I don’t want to speak for you guys, but I certainly know why I’m here.”

Hallmark fans were stunned in April 2022 when Candace, 47, announced she was leaving the channel to step into a more executive role at GAC Family.

“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” she said in a statement at the time. “GAC fits my brand perfectly; we share a vision of creating compelling, wholesome content for an audience who wants to watch programming for and with the whole family.”

Following her departure, other Hallmark stars followed suit and left the feel-good network for GAC Family. Danica McKellar, Jen Lilley, Jessica Lowndes, Cameron Mathison and Trevor Donovan all decided to start new chapters in their careers, like Candace.

As for whether or not they now see their former colleagues on GAC Family as competition, both Andrew and Paul, 44, are confident in their decision to stay at Hallmark.

“I don’t know who else can do what we do,” Andrew said. “Even if we have shortcomings and perhaps other places do certain things better or have more money, I don’t know how our style gets duplicated somewhere else in quite the same way. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.”

Paul added, “I think the word competition implies there are viewers going elsewhere because somebody else is doing what Hallmark is doing. If you look at the numbers this season, viewership is up, so it’s a big playground.”

The Magic in Mistletoe actor feels like there is “a lot of space for people to produce and tell similar stories” but does not think there is direct competition.

“Hallmark is the only place that does specifically what Hallmark does,” Paul concluded.