Emmy-Winning Actress Fired as Diet Spokesperson for Gaining Weight
“I felt so horrified,” the former Food Network host said.
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Actress Valerie Bertinelli, 65, claims a diet company fired her as its spokesperson after she gained weight.
During Bertinelli’s appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, hosts Drew Barrymore and Ross Matthews pulled up a photo of the former Food Network host in a short-sleeved white dress from her 2012 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for a round of nostalgic photos. Barrymore told Bertinelli, “You look stunning,” to which she responded, “And I felt so horrified.”
The Walk of Fame ceremony was meant to celebrate the actress’s accomplishments, including her two Golden Globe wins for Best Supporting Actress in 1981 and 1982 for her role in One Day at a Time. Bertinelli also won two Daytime Emmy awards for her Food Network show, Valerie’s Home Cooking, in 2019.
However, the actress said that what should’ve been a joyful day—a celebration of her many award wins and nominations in television—was derailed by shame.
Valerie Bertinelli attends the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7, 2024.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
“I had just started a diet program and then became their spokesperson in 2007, and I had lost 50 pounds. Then, life started to get the better of me, and I wasn’t taking care of my mental and emotional health, so the weight started to come back on.”
The actress said the diet program ultimately ended their partnership due to her weight gain. She said, “This was the last year, I believe, that I was with the diet company, and they fired me eventually. They said, ‘We can’t keep going with you because you’re gaining weight again.’”
While Bertinelli didn’t name the specific diet program, she was hired as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig in 2007.
The actress said she had “gotten down to a size four” at one point, which “was way too small for me and impossible to maintain.”
Bertinelli estimates her baseline size is approximately a size 10 now, noting that she “would have been horrified then being on that diet program [as] a size 10.”
Getting emotional, the actress continued, “Right now...it’s about my mental and emotional health. And my mental and emotional health, even though I’m getting teary-eyed, is so strong right now.”
Valerie Bertinelli attends the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on April 3, 2022.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Bertinelli added that her strong mindset has allowed her to prioritize what really matters. “I know what kind of person I am. It doesn’t matter how much I weigh,” she said. “What matters is who I am, how I treat people, period.”
In a 2009 People magazine cover story in which she discussed the program, Bertinelli, then 49, told the outlet she lost 50 pounds by eating just 1,200 calories a day and running five times a week. Consuming 1,800 to 2,000 calories daily is considered standard by most dietary guidelines.