No stranger to adversity, Bertinelli navigated Hollywood as the child star of One Day at a Time, endured a rocky marriage and public divorce from rocker Eddie Van Halen, and has been vocal about her long struggle with her weight. At 50 years young, she now finds herself 30 pounds lighter and at the top of her game with a new television series, Hot in Cleveland, debuting this June. In a stunning six-page spread, a vibrant Valerie struts her stuff in ball gowns and bare feet and says, “I’ve never been a big age person. I’ve got the lines. I’m aging. But so what? Now is the best time of my life.”
On Turning 50 and Aging with Grace
“Women of this age are not dead. We’re part of baby boomers. We’re big, man!”
“You know what’s so great about being this age? We’re smarter. And we’re not too old to grow.”
“I’ve never been a big age person. I’ve got the lines. I’m aging. But so what? Now is the best of time of my life…I hope it just gets better, because this is really fun.”
“I’m proud to be an AARP member!”
“When I was [my son] Wolfie’s age and my mom would try to tell me something I was like, ‘She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. God she knew what she was talking about.’”
On Finding Love
“I’ve never had a male friend like I have with Tom…Mature love doesn’t mean you have to be mature all the time–we definitely have our immature moments. But when disagreements come up, we’re able to talk in a way that’s not attacking, and we’ll still love one another.”