Valerie Bertinelli spoke out for the first time about her experience of sexual abuse when she was just 11 years old.
The “One Day at a Time” alum, 65, opened up about the shocking incident in a new interview with People magazine published Wednesday to promote her upcoming memoir, “Getting Naked.”
“It took at least 10 years,” Bertinelli told the magazine about her decision to come forward more than 50 years later. “The first time I said it out loud to my therapist, I thought, ‘This is going to make me feel better.'”
The Touched by an Angel alum admitted that it “got worse before it got better,” and that she “might have eaten a little more or drank a little more” to distract herself, but ultimately decided to “deal with” her feelings.
“It’s up to you to deal with them or not, and I chose to deal with them,” she said. “I’m no longer embarrassed. I’m angry that this happened. No one deserves something like that.”
But Bertinelli also revealed that she “never intended to go public” about the sexual abuse she suffered at the age of 11, adding that Getting Naked, which will be released on March 10, was originally intended to be “a book that teaches people how to love themselves.”
“I think now that I’m recovering from my illness, I’m not as scared anymore,” she told People. “I can say it out loud: I was sexually assaulted. I don’t feel like it owns me anymore.”
The Golden Globe winner also spoke about why she “deliberately” placed a photo of herself at age 11 at the beginning of a chapter in her book about sexual assault.
“Because it was a girl who had been sexually abused,” she explained. “And I am appalled that this little girl was taken advantage of in such a way.”
She added: “It’s mind-boggling because it’s still happening…and I’m furious about it. And we need to start speaking up and saying, ‘Enough is enough.'”
Representatives for Bertinelli did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Elsewhere in her talk about “Getting Naked,” the Emmy winner acknowledged all the things she’s still grateful for during her harrowing experience as a victim of sexual abuse.
Bertinelli, a lifestyle expert on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” called the popular daytime show an “oasis.”
She also credits her son Wolfgang Van Halen with helping her recover from the trauma she suffered.
Bertinelli welcomed 34-year-old Wolfgang with ex-husband Eddie Van Halen in 1991. Eddie died of a stroke at the age of 65 in 2020, 13 years after divorcing the lifestyle expert in 2007.
The icon and her second husband, Tom Vitale, divorced in 2022, 11 years after they married in 2011.
Meanwhile, Bertinelli also credits her passion for cooking and her digital platform Valerie’s Place with helping her cope with the trauma.
“We want to build a community where everyone is welcome,” Bertinelli said of Valerie’s Place. “This is a place where people can come into my kitchen and cook with me. I really missed that.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call our Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
