Gina Heslop
Valerie Bertinelli, a Golden Globe-winning actress, shared her experience of emotional, verbal, and mental abuse on her Instagram Story. While wearing an old pair of pants, she heard the particular sound of the fabric rubbing together and shared that one of her ex-partners mercilessly mocked her for her weight, telling her she was too lazy to do anything about it.
Bertinelli revealed that the comments once led her to put the jeans away forever and change the way she walked in them. However, she now sees it as the sound of freedom, and the negativity no longer matters to her.
Bertinelli went on to explain that emotional, verbal, and mental abuse leave hidden bruises that people can’t see but that survivors deal with every day. She also pre-emptively clapped back at haters who might criticize her for not letting go of her past, saying that healing takes time and effort.
Last month, Bertinelli posted an emotional video talking about the same ex-partner who referred to her as “fat and lazy.” In her Instagram Story, she expressed gratitude for the work she’s doing on healing, saying that it’s making her giggle now. She also stated that she is “long over the narcissist” and trying to understand what allowed her to “tolerate the intolerable” for so long.
Bertinelli has been married twice, with both ending in divorce. She finalized her divorce from financial planner Tom Vitale in 2022. She shares a son, Wolfgang, with the late rocker Eddie Van Halen.
