Steve Burns from ‘Blue’s Clues’ is back. Steve has message for grown-up fans

Steve Burns from ‘Blue’s Clues’ Talks About Growing Up

Steve from ‘Blue’s Clues’ is back to make things right with millennials

For many a millennial kid, Steve Burns of “Blue’s Clues” was a steady presence in our lives. Until he wasn’t.

Burns – or as everyone knows him, Steve – left the show abruptly in 2002, giving many ’90s kids their first taste of being ghosted.

He told viewers he was leaving for college and his brother Joe would be taking over the job of hunting for clues, waiting for mail time, talking to Mr. Salt, et cetera. And, just like that, Steve was gone.

Nearly two decades later, Steve Burns has returned to give us closure.

blues clues steve message

“Can we just talk about that?” he says in a video posted by Nick Jr. to Twitter. “Because I realize that was kind of abrupt.”

blue clues steve burns calls his time in “college” – we’re sticking with that cover story, it seems – “challenging” but “great.” He acknowledges all that’s changed in the past 20 or so years.

“Look at you, and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time. It’s just so amazing, right? I mean we started out with clues, and now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs, and families.”

But Steve wouldn’t just leave us with thoughts of student loan debt and 9-to-5 jobs.

“I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years, I never forgot you … ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends,” he says, instantly melting our real world-hardened hearts.

So about that time Steve went off to college… #BluesClues25 pic.twitter.com/O8NOM2eRjy
— Nick Jr. (@nickjr) September 7, 2021

steve blues clues jail

No, it wasn’t jail or drugs: Steve Burns’ story after Blue’s Clues

Adults who grew up watching Steve Burns on Blue’s Clues have always wondered why he left so abruptly back in 2002.

Some people wondered if he had gone to jail or turned to drugs. However, the former Nickelodeon host has taken to Twitter at the 25th anniversary of the show to share a heartfelt message to his fans and reveal exactly why he left.

‘I never forgot you’: ‘Blue’s Clues’ original host Steve Burns has message for grown-up fans

Marking the 25th anniversary of “Blue’s Clues,” original host Steve Burns returned in his classic green-striped outfit to deliver a touching message to the show’s first audience, who are now all grown-ups.

In a trending two-minute clip uploaded on Nick Jr.’s social media accounts, Burns opened up about leaving “Blue’s Clues” in 2002 after four seasons.

“Remember how, when we were younger, we used to run around and hang out with Blue, and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt, and freak out about the mail, and do all the fun stuff?” he began.

“And then, one day I was like: ‘Oh hey, guess what? Big news… I’m leaving. This is my brother Joe, he’s your new best friend.’ Then I got on the bus and left. And we didn’t see each other for a really long time,” he added.

According to Burns, he knew leaving the show was an “abrupt” move but it led him to the things he wanted to accomplish.

“I realize that was kind of abrupt. I just kinda got up and went to college. And, that was really challenging, by the way, but great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time. And now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do,” he quipped.

He went on to talk to his now grown-up fans, who stormed the comments section to express how the short clip took them to a trip down memory lane, and applauded them for their accomplishments in the past two decades.

“And then look at you, and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time. And it’s just so amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues. And now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs, and families. And some of it has been kind of hard, you know?

I know you know,” he added, addressing his viewers who may have their own families by now.

Steve from Blue’s Clues Talks About Growing Up and Why He Left Show: ‘I Never Forgot About You’

steve from blues clues added, “I mean, we started out with clues and now, it’s what?

Student loans, and jobs, and families. And some of it has been kind of hard, you know?

I know you know. I wanted to tell you that I really couldn’t have done all of that without your help. In fact, all the help that you helped me with when we were younger is still helping me today. Right now. And that’s super cool.”

In conclusion, Burns said he “just wanted to say that, after all these years, I never forgot you…ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends.”

Steve from Blues Clues is BACK and has us all in our feels pic.twitter.com/ssJhQz92or
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 7, 2021

Steve Burns

Steven Michael Burns is an American actor, musician, producer, director, and television host.

(born October 9, 1973)

He is best known as the original host of the long-running children’s preschool television program Blue’s Clues from 1996 until 2002, for which he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2001.

Blue’s Clues

Blue’s Clues is an American live-action/animated educational children’s television series that premiered on Nick Jr. on September 8, 1996.

Producers/creators Angela Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson combined concepts from child development and early-childhood education with innovative animation and production techniques that helped their viewers learn.

The show was originally hosted by Steve Burns, who left in 2002 and was replaced by Donovan Patton as Joe for the rest of the series. The show follows an animated blue-spotted dog named Blue as she leaves a trail of clues/paw prints for the host and the viewers to figure out her plans for the day.

Blue’s Clues became the highest-rated show for preschoolers on American commercial television and was critical to Nickelodeon’s growth.

It has been called “one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and ground-breaking preschool television series of all time”.

A spin-off called Blue’s Room premiered in 2004.

Why did Steve leave Blue’s Clues?

19 years later, Steve addressed his abrupt departure from the show on Nick Jr.’s Twitter. The character explained that he left to go off to college, which was challenging but great. He then talks to his, now older, fans, acknowledging the “amazing” things they have faced over the years.

Did Steve from Blue’s Clues go to college?

DeSales University

Who replaced Joe on Blue’s Clues?

Donovan Patton
Occupation Actor, television host, singer
Years active 1996–present
Known for Joe in Blue’s Clues
Spouse(s) Jackie Patton

Is Steve Burns Still Alive 2020?

The actor seems to have taken all of the death rumors with a bit of humor, even naming his Instagram account “Steve Burns Alive.” He went on The Rosie O’ Donnell Show to address the myths about his passing in order to assure kids all over that no, Steve was still very much alive and doing well.