Valerie Bertinelli has lived her life in the public eye since she was a teenager. She was just 15 when she landed her breakout role as Barbara Cooper on One Day at a Time. She discussed traumatic events from her childhood in her memoir, Getting Naked. She’s worked hard to overcome her past. She recently opened up about healing “childhood wounds.”
Valerie Bertinelli Revealed Sexual Abuse In Memoir
Valerie Bertinelli gave fans access to nearly every part of her life. Her marriage and eventual divorce from Eddie Van Halen played out in the tabloids. Infidelity and substance abuse led to their separation in 2001. They later divorced, but remained friends until he passed away in 2020. The former couple’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, has followed in his father’s footsteps in the music industry.
The Hot in Cleveland star went on to marry and divorce Tom Vitale. Her most recent romance ended after just ten months. Valerie Bertinelli openly shared her struggle with her weight. At one point, she was the spokesperson for Jenny Craig. But there was one thing she wasn’t ready to tell the public.
Valerie Bertinelli was sexually abused as a child. The horrifying memory was something she struggled to accept. She finally broke her silence on the abuse in her 2026 memoir, Getting Naked.
One Day At A Time Star Opens Up About Healing ‘Childhood Wounds’
Writing about the abuse helped her overcome it. Now, she’s an advocate for other survivors through her Getting Naked podcast and candid social media posts. The actress shared a bare-faced selfie and encouragement earlier this week.
“I’d like to share something with you that might help with some challenges you may have gone or are going through. The revelatory lesson I was able to learn in the last few years was this – unless and until you take care of the original shame that never ever belonged to you, someone will come along and try to use that vulnerability to take advantage of you,” Valerie Bertinelli wrote on social media.
The post continued, “Take care of and start to heal all of those childhood wounds. Get curious. Study your emotional bruises. Treat clarity and self-love like a muscle. Stretch it and strengthen it. Learn to trust your body’s intuition, not what your brain is trying to make sense of.”
She encouraged her followers not to try to make sense of someone’s abusive behavior. “Clarity, strength, and self-love will win over manipulation and mind games every single time,” she advised.
“Your work is within yourself. Focus on that. It’s none of your business what other people think of you,” the One Day at a Time alum wrote. Her candid words resonated with a lot of her followers. They thanked her for coming forward with her own abuse and helping others.
Valerie Bertinelli recently teased that she’s working with her Hot in Cleveland co-stars on a new project. Stay tuned for updates on that.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
