‘Kids Baking Championship’: Why Is Valerie Bertinelli No Longer Hosting? The Reason She Left the Show

For the first time in two years, Kids Baking Championship is back with a brand new season. However, Duff Goldman is not joined by his usual cohost, Valerie Bertinelli, for Season 13.

Bertinelli had a somewhat dramatic exit from Food Network after her contract ended in 2022. She was part of Season 12 of Kids Baking Championship in 2024, as it filmed before her contract was up, but for Season 13, Goldman will be accompanied by a new cohost.

Scroll down for everything we know about Bertinelli’s Food Network exit, the new woman hosting Kids Baking Championship with Goldman, and more.

Why did Valerie Bertinelli leave Kids Baking Championship?

Bertinelli’s time at Food Network came to an end because the network decided not to renew her contract when it ended in 2022, according to Variety. In 2018, she signed a deal that would allow her to work on “multiple projects in daytime and primetime” on Food Network until 2021. The deal was extended for a year until 2022, which is when she filmed Seasons 11 and 12 of Kids Baking Championship.

“Her deal expired, they opted not to renew it,” Bertinelli’s manager said. “They could have come to me with an offer just for Kids. They never did. Simple as that.” A source told Variety that there was no offer for Bertinelli to just continue cohosting Kids Baking Championship because the network believed she wouldn’t do so if her overall deal was not extended.

The decision to end Bertinelli’s contract was reportedly due to budget cuts at Food Network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

In a now-deleted post on X, Bertinelli reiterated that she was never in talks to host Kids Baking Championship after her deal ended. “I got an inkling I might not be asked back when I saw I was not in the holiday specials,” she wrote in 2024, per Variety. “I got a text by a third party on Friday that told me I would not be back. LOL I was basically ghosted.”

However, she added, “I have zero ill will toward anyone at FN, I enjoyed every single moment I worked for them, and they are all lovely, kind, hard-working people. And I understand business is business. But I won’t tolerate lies. I am a lot of things, but I am not greedy, nor am I a liar.”

She also posted a video on her Instagram Story at the time and said it “really hurt my feelings” to not be asked back to the competition show. “It really sucks,” she admitted.

Who replaced Valerie Bertinelli on Kids Baking Championship?

Kardea Brown replaced Bertinelli for Season 13 of Kids Baking Championship. She previously hosted the Holiday Baking Championship special, as well as the Spring Baking Championship.

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Valerie Bertinelli Talks 'Bingo Blitz' and the Surprises of Game Show Hosting

Brown made her Food Network debut on BBQ Blitz in 2015. She appeared on Beat Bobby Flay and Cupcake Championship before landing her own show, Delicious Miss Brown, in 2019. It aired for three seasons.

What is Valerie Bertinelli doing now?

Bertinelli moved on from Food Network as the host of Bingo Blitz on Game Show Network. In March, she’ll be releasing her new book, Getting Naked, which she describes as “a collection of intimate and vulnerable essays, exploring aging, love, friendship, secrets, and acceptance.” She’s also regularly contributes to The Drew Barrymore Show as a lifestyle expert.

In November 2024, Bertinelli ended her relationship with boyfriend Mike Goodnough after 10 months together. Prior to dating Goodnough, she was married to Tom Vitale from 2011 to 2021.

Kids Baking Championship, Season 13, Tuesdays, 8/7c, Food Network