Valerie Bertinelli Recalls Being Fired From Diet Company After Gaining Back Weight

Valerie Bertinelli made a surprising revelation while taking a trip down memory lane on The Drew Barrymore Show.

During a recent episode of Drew Barrymore‘s daytime talk show, she and her cohosts revisited some of their old photos in a segment called “Memory Bank.” For Bertinelli, her photo was of her 2012 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

“Look at you, Val. God, you’re so beautiful, Val,” Ross Mathews gushed, while Barrymore stated, “I know. You look stunning.” While Bertinelli appreciated their compliments, she revealed that she actually “felt so horrified” at the event because of her weight.

“I had started a diet program and then became their spokesperson in 2007, and I had lost 50 pounds. And then, life started to get the better of me, and I wasn’t taking care of my mental and emotional health, so the weight started to come back on,” she explained. “And this was the last year, I believe, that I was with this diet company, and they fired me. Eventually, [they] said, ‘We can’t keep going with you because you’re gaining weight again.’”

Bertinelli noted that she wore a size 12 dress for the ceremony. “I remember thinking, ‘But size 12 is not that big.’ But I had gotten down to a size 4, which was way too small for me and impossible for me to maintain,” she said. “And I have been up and down, but pretty much, basically, this weight my whole life that I am right now, and I’m a size 10 now. And I would’ve been horrified then, being on the diet program being a size 10.”

Bertinelli said she no longer stresses about her weight, but rather focuses on her “mental and emotional health.” She shared, “I am so strong and firm in who I am and, no matter what people throw at me, I know who I am, and I know what kind of person I am, and it doesn’t matter how much I weigh. What matters is who I am, how I treat people. Period.”

After receiving applause from the show’s audience, Bertinelli revealed that she still owns her Walk of Fame ceremony dress. “It fits me just fine. It’s a little less snug than it is there. But if anything, it doesn’t matter what size we are. What is our heart? How do we treat people? Period.”

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Bertinelli’s comments earned praise from her colleagues. “Preach, Val,” Mathews stated, while Barrymore said, “I hope that we’ve also come some distance between just saying skinny and fat as opposed to like, ‘What is healthy for you?’”

Bertinelli agreed with Barrymore’s take, adding, “You’re right. What is healthy for you? What is healthy mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically?”

Bertinelli did not specify the name of the diet company on the show. However, she notably took over for the late Kirstie Alley as the face of Jenny Craig in 2007.

Bertinelli has been open about her weight-loss journey over the years, revealing in a February 2024 Instagram post that she no longer weighs herself. ​​”2014 #tbt This is a 150lb body on a 5’4 frame,” she wrote alongside throwback pics of herself swimming in a bikini. “I don’t weigh myself anymore because this is considered overweight by who’s standards I don’t know. It’s stupid and I believed them for far too long. I now, finally, know that I am a kind, considerate, funny, thoughtful woman.”

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She continued, “So please remember, who you are and what your character is, should never be overshadowed by what size you are or how much you weigh. You are enough. Just the way you are. F**k ‘em 💜#throwbackthursday.”

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