Valerie Bertinelli Says She's ‘Done With the D*mn Scale,’ and ‘Done Judging Myself’
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Valerie Bertinelli, 61, opened up about her journey towards self-acceptance in a new interview.
The Food Network star said she was “done with the scale” and is no longer judging herself based on her weight.
“I want to be kinder and more accepting of myself,” she said.
Valerie Bertinelli is “done with the d*amn scale.” In a new interview with People, the Food Network star opened up about her new memoir Enough Already and her journey towards self-acceptance after battling body image issues around her weight.
“I have a lot of decades of thinking I have to look a certain way for people to accept me and to like me,” said the actress, who was formally married to the late Eddie Van Halen. Bertinelli said she's experienced body image issues since childhood.
“I watched my father treat my mother badly when she would gain weight,” she recalled. “I had a 5th-grade teacher poke my belly and say, ‘You want to keep an eye on that.’ So I learned at a very young age that when you gain weight, you're not lovable.”
Bertinelli said that her time in the limelight amplified her body image issues. After starring in the popular sitcom One Day at a Time, she would often compare herself to costar Mackenzie Phillips, especially after a reporter told her that she looked like “a ton of lard” standing next to her.
“I had pretended to be the bubbly upbeat all American girl,” she wrote in her new book, “but in private, I have rarely thought of myself as anything but a failure.” At 47, she become a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. “I wasn’t trying to get healthy or deal with the reasons I had gained weight over the years,” she said. “I had split from Ed and I refused to take money from him. As a single working mom I needed to make money.”
The star lost 50 pounds using admittedly unhealthy means. “I was starving myself and doing twice a day workouts,” she said. “I didn’t take care of my head and my heart and I think it really starts with that.”
At 67, Bertinelli said she weighs more than she did when she was younger, but she no longer shames herself for how she looks. “What I’m learning is that your body is not what makes you lovable,” she said.
“We’re all part of this diet culture that isn't actually helping us, our mental or emotional health,” she continues. “I’m trying to dismantle all of the things I learned that are ingrained in me. And I've learned there are many people that feel the same exact way that I do. Some of us were taught the wrong things.”
As for the actionable ways in which she’s combatting her weight insecurities, Bertinelli said she’s done weighing herself. “Every time I want to get on the scale, I think, ‘Why would you do that Valerie?’ Because it’s not about the number. There’s not going to be before and after photos. Whatever happens, happens,” she said. “I’m done judging myself. I want to be kinder and more accepting of myself.”
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