Valerie Bertinelli Says Diet Company Dropped Her After She Gained Weight Again

Valerie Bertinelli is opening up about body image, self-worth, and why she no longer lets her weight define who she is.

During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Bertinelli reflected on being fired as a spokesperson for a diet company after she began gaining weight again — a moment she says deeply affected her at the time.

While playing the show’s “Memory Bank” segment, Bertinelli shared a photo of herself wearing a white dress at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2012. Host Drew Barrymore immediately praised her appearance, calling her “stunning.” But Bertinelli revealed she felt anything but confident.

“I felt so horrified,” she admitted.

Bertinelli explained that she became the face of a diet program in 2007 after losing around 50 pounds. But as life became overwhelming and her mental and emotional health suffered, the weight gradually returned.

“This was the last year I was with that diet company,” she said. “They eventually fired me and said, ‘We can’t keep going with you because you’re gaining weight again.’”

At the time, Bertinelli was wearing a size 12 — something she remembers feeling ashamed of, despite now realizing how unrealistic those expectations were.

“I remember thinking, ‘But size 12’s not that big!’” she said. “I had gotten down to a size 4, which was way too small for me and impossible to maintain.”

The Hot in Cleveland star shared that her weight has fluctuated throughout her life, but she’s now at a size 10 — and far happier than she was when she was thinner.

“Back then, I would’ve been horrified being a size 10,” she said. “But right now, it’s about my mental and emotional health.”

Fighting back tears, Bertinelli emphasized how grounded she feels today.

“My mental and emotional health is so strong right now,” she said. “I know who I am, and no matter what people throw at me, it doesn’t matter how much I weigh.”

“What matters is who I am and how I treat people. Period.”

Bertinelli also revealed that she still owns the white dress from her Walk of Fame ceremony — and it still fits.

“It’s a little less snug than it was then,” she joked. “But if anything, it proves that it doesn’t matter what size we are. What matters is our heart.”

Drew Barrymore echoed that sentiment, saying she hopes society has moved beyond simply labeling bodies as “skinny” or “fat.”

“What is healthy for you?” Barrymore asked.

“You’re right,” Bertinelli replied. “What’s healthy mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically?”

Bertinelli has spoken openly about body image struggles before, including a candid discussion last October where she said many people experience some form of body dysmorphia.

“We’ve been trained to think we’re not enough,” she said at the time. “But our bodies are our bodies — and they’re beautiful.”

Her message now is clear: health is not a number on a scale, and self-worth has nothing to do with size.