Valerie Bertinelli Says She Has Endured an ‘Emotionally Excruciating’ 8 Months
Valerie Bertinelli really is taking life one day at a time after enduring what she called “some of the most emotionally excruciating eight months” of her life.
The One Day at a Time alum got candid about her recent struggles in an Instagram caption on Friday, May 16, saying she’s sometimes hesitant to do so because of the “useless opinions” of trolls on her page. But she also wants to reach out to the many fans who have made her page “so special” and who “understand and feel not so alone” by sharing their struggles, too.
Then Bertinelli opened up about her emotional turmoil. “I started two jobs in different states and writing my new book, all while going through some of the most emotionally excruciating eight months of my life,” she wrote. “And I still got my exhausted, sleepless ass up in the morning, put on a good face, and showed up, when all I wanted to do was stay in bed and sob.”
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The two new jobs Bertinelli is likely referring to are her posts as lifestyle expert on The Drew Barrymore Show and as host of the Game Show Network program Bingo Blitz. She also released the cookbook Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share in April 2024.
Amid those career moves, however, Bertinelli split from boyfriend Mike Goodnough last fall. She started dating the lifestyle writer in January 2024 following her divorce from financial planner Tim Vitale in 2022.
“This is not to say I feel sorry for myself because I don’t,” Bertinelli wrote on Instagram. “Nobody has the market cornered on grief and heartache. People go through hard s*** all the time. You just do what you have to do to get through what you have to get through.”
Bertinelli’s trials and tribulations, however, taught her about her strength, weaknesses, patience, resilience, and worth, she said. “I still have more inner work left to do (I don’t believe that we’re ever really done, and that shadow can be a li’l bitch), and I’m OK with that,” she wrote. “It’s the good work.”
The Hot in Cleveland alum also dispensed advice for her Instagram followers: “If I could give you anything of value from my experience it would be this; don’t let the challenging days make you forget how far you’ve actually come,” she wrote. “No matter what, always believe in your core self. Do not allow the opinions of others or their experience with you color what you think of yourself. You did your best with what you knew at the time.”
She added: “Betrayal of your own self-worth is even worse than another’s betrayal. You deserve kindness, respect, and confidences that can be trusted. Especially and mostly from yourself. We’re here on this little floating rock to learn and to love. Learn to love yourself. Even that damn shadow. And if/when we fall or get pushed down again, we can either wallow, navel-gaze, and be a victim, or we can get our asses back up and live our big, beautiful life. Do that. XO.”
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