Valerie Bertinelli is opening up about a painful moment in her past surrounding weight, and how it changed her relationship with her body and self-worth.
Keep reading to learn more below.
Valerie Bertinelli Fired from a Diet Company
Bertinelli made an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on January 14th, taking part in the “Memory Bank” segment. Barrymore and her guests are presented with photos from significant moments in their past, prompting them to discuss the backstory behind the image.
For the 65-year-old actress, the photo that was pulled up was Bertinelli in a white floral sheath dress at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2012.
While Barrymore commented about her being “so beautiful,” Bertinelli had a different opinion. “And I felt so horrified,” she said.
Years before the image, she had publicly discussed weight loss efforts while representing a diet company. “I had started a diet program and then became their spokesperson in 2007, and I had lost 50 pounds,” she recounts. “And then life started to get the better of me, and I wasn’t taking care of my mental and emotional health, so the weight started to come back on.”
Her Hollywood Walk of Fame photo was taken during the last year Bertinelli was with the company, who later fired her because, “[They] can’t keep going with you because you’re gaining weight again.”
While the dress was only a size 12 in the photo, Bertinelli had gotten down to a size 4 with her previous weight loss efforts. However, that weight was “impossible for [her] to maintain.”
As of now, she wears a size 10. While the actress did not name the specific diet program she was on, she was hired as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig in 2007.
Changing her Health Beliefs
When talking about her priorities in life, Bertinelli got a little emotional with Barrymore. “Right now, it’s about my mental and emotional health,” she stated. “My mental and emotional health — even though I’m getting teary-eyed — is so strong right now.”
She goes on to talk about how “it doesn’t matter how much [she] weigh[s]” and even points out to Barrymore and the audience that, “What matters is who I am, how I treat people. Period!”
Her confidence led to several audience members clapping and cheering. Bertinelli even went on to say she still had the dress from the Walk of Fame photo. And guess what? It fits her just fine and is even a little less snug in places.
Avoiding “Diet Culture”
Bertinelli has expressed that she doesn’t “like diet culture” in the past, and instead just focuses on including protein, carbs, fat, and fiber into her diet. She has even gone so far as not weigh herself anymore.
In an Instagram post, she wrote, “This is a 150lb body on a 5’4 fram. I don’t weigh myself anymore because this is considered overweight by whose standards I don’t know.”
She goes on to talk about the importance of character over weight, and that a number on a scale should never overshadow who you truly are.