Valerie Bertinelli has revealed that she was sexually assaulted at the age of 11, ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, Getting Naked. The 65-year-old actress and former Food Network host told People magazine she had not planned to go public with the assault, but now considers it part of her healing journey.
“I guess because I'm healing from it, it's not so scary anymore,” she said. “I can say it out loud. I was sexually assaulted. It doesn't feel like it owns me anymore.” Bertinelli included a photo of herself at 11 in the book because, as she explained, “that was the little girl that was sexually abused.” She added that she remains furious that such abuse still occurs, and called on people to speak up and say “Enough.”
Reflecting on her childhood self, the One Day at a Time star described a typical little girl who loved colouring, reading, playing with her Barbies, riding her bike and spending time with her cats. She admitted it took her at least 10 years to talk about what happened, and that while she thought she would feel better after telling her therapist, “it got worse before it got better.”
Bertinelli previously published a memoir in 2022, Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today, in which she reflected on the last words she said to her first husband, Eddie Van Halen, before he died of cancer at age 65 in late 2020. The couple were married from 1981 to 2007 and shared one son, Wolfgang.
She wrote that as Van Halen lay dying, she told him through tears: “Maybe next time. Maybe next time, we'll get it right.” She added that they shared almost four decades of “love, anger, frustration and friendship,” and said: “I loved Ed more than I know how to explain. I loved his soul.”
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. In England and Wales, call 0808 802 9999; in Scotland, 0808 801 0302; and in Northern Ireland, 0800 0246 991. Further information is available at www.rapecrisis.org.uk.
