Valerie Bertinelli is a beloved actress who has won the hearts of fans for many years. She first became famous for her role as Barbara Cooper in the popular TV show One Day at a Time, where she skillfully portrayed the struggles of a teenage girl.
Bertinelli has also appeared in movies like The Iconic and Café Society, proving she can take on a variety of roles. Beyond acting, she shines as a TV host and author.
Bertinelli’s life has seen its share of tragedies, some occurring before her birth and others developing over the years. Many of these emotional moments relate to her intense marriage with rock star Eddie Van Halen and her struggles with weight and body confidence.
Her book, Enough Already, explores how she has dealt with these challenges, But after all, who can magically overcome tragedies and emotions overnight.
#1. Bertinelli never met her older brother
A significant tragedy marked Valerie Bertinelli’s life even before she was born. She never got to meet her older brother, Mark, and didn’t learn about him until her teenage years. The heartbreaking event took place on a friend’s farm when her mother was pregnant with Valerie. At just 17 months old, Mark wandered off and discovered a soda bottle. Tragically, it contained poison, leading to his untimely death. This loss profoundly impacted Bertinelli, shaping her understanding of family and loss.
#2. Her first marriage ended after over two decades
Valerie Bertinelli fell in love with rock star Eddie Van Halen at first sight during a concert in 1980. Just eight months later, they tied the knot in 1981 when she was only 21. The couple welcomed their son, Wolfgang, in 1991. Although their relationship had its ups and downs, it ultimately came to an end.
Bertinelli and Van Halen began to separate in 2001 and finalized their divorce in 2007. They managed to forgive each other for their early infidelities, but it was mainly Van Halen’s struggles with drug and alcohol addiction that led to their split. Bertinelli later revealed that she also battled substance abuse for a few years.
Infidelity and drug use weren’t the only reason for their breakup; they both recognized that their son was watching their relationship. Bertinelli explained, “One of the many reasons that Ed and I split up is to give Wolfie a better vision of what two people who are supposedly in love treat each other like. Ed and I weren’t treating each other like two people that loved each other, and that’s what Wolfie was seeing.”
#3. Her dad and mom passed away in 2016 and 2019 respectively
The death of her father in 2016 marked a series of losses. This was shortly after her last appearance on “Hot in Cleveland.” Her father, Andrew Bertinelli, served in the Army and worked for General Motors for 32 years after his military service. Following his retirement, he did consulting work in England, which contributed to the development of the Channel Tunnel connecting England and France.
In her book “Enough Already,” Bertinelli mentioned that her father began experiencing small heart attacks around 2014, which greatly affected his health. Andrew passed away at the age of 82, and his obituary requested donations in his name to the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an organization that focuses on heart health issues among veterans.
Bertinelli’s mom, Nancy Bertinelli, passed away in 2019 at the age of 82. Nancy worked as a travel agent and raised five children, alongside having four grandchildren. She played a crucial role in Valerie’s early acting career, often driving her to auditions during her teenage years.
An accomplished artist, Nancy specialized in oil paintings. Unfortunately, she spent much of her life battling rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that impacted her heart and made movement difficult.
#4. Bertinelli experienced heartbreak when her rock star ex-partner passed away
Even though Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen divorced in 2007, they maintained a special bond. Van Halen’s death from lung cancer in 2020 hit Bertinelli hard.
In her book Enough Already, she shared a touching memory from Thanksgiving 2019, when Van Halen surprised her with a gold bar pendant he had bought while undergoing cancer treatments in Germany. He told her, “I hope you don’t think it’s weird, you know, that I bought my ex-wife this gift and didn’t get my wife anything. I just love you.”
During his last week and a half in the hospital, Bertinelli and their son Wolfgang took turns staying with him, alongside Van Halen’s brother and his wife, Janie.
#5. After gaining weight from grief, she faced body-shaming
Bertinelli faced significant personal losses as three important people died in just four years. This grief led her to use food as a way to cope, resulting in weight gain. Sadly, some social media users were not supportive of her changes.
About nine months after her ex-husband’s passing, while Bertinelli was looking through old recipes on Instagram for her cookbook, “Indulge,” she encountered a harsh comment telling her to lose weight.
In response, she created an emotional Instagram video. She expressed that gaining weight often indicates someone is struggling, stating, “You think I’m not tired of it, lady?” Bertinelli emphasized that her lifelong battle with weight management continues, even at 61.
#6. Her second marriage turned toxic
Valerie Bertinelli met Tom Vitale in 2004 while she was separating from Eddie Van Halen. They didn’t marry until 2011, four years after her divorce was finalized. Sadly, their marriage came to an end in 2022, just 11 years after it began.
While the divorce papers stated they had irreconcilable differences, Bertinelli later revealed a deeper issue: verbal abuse. She shared that she often faced harsh criticism, being called “fat and lazy.”
Although she recognized this behavior as a projection of Vitale’s own issues, it affected her self-esteem for a long time. However, Bertinelli has moved past these feelings and no longer accepts that negative narrative about herself.
#7. Food Network ghosted her
Since the start of the “Kids Baking Championship” in 2015, Valerie Bertinelli had been a familiar face on the show and expected to return for its 13th season. However, she was taken aback when she didn’t receive a callback for the new season of a show she loved.
In response to a People article stating that discussions about her return had stalled, she clarified on X that there were no talks to begin with. Bertinelli suspected she might not be returning when she noticed she wasn’t included in the holiday specials. She learned through a text from a third party that she wouldn’t be back, describing it as being “ghosted.”
While she recognized that the decision was likely business-related, Bertinelli expressed her disappointment in a 2024 Instagram video, saying, “It really hurt my feelings to know that I’m not going to be asked back.”
