Valerie Bertinelli Talks ‘Terrifying’ Nude Shoot At 66

Valerie Bertinelli spoke about how scared she was of posing nude for the cover of her memoir, “Getting Naked,” during a book festival.

The actress explained that the idea came from a conversation with her editor, who felt that the cover should match the book’s theme of honesty.

Although she found it intimidating, Valerie Bertinelli said she pushed herself to go through with it and ultimately viewed the experience as something she was glad to try once.

Valerie Bertinelli Reflects On ‘Terrifying’ Moment She Posed Nude For New Memoir Cover

Bertinelli shared how “terrifying” it was to pose nude for the cover of her memoir, “Getting Naked.”

Speaking during a live Q&A at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 18, the 66-year-old actress explained that the idea came up while she was talking to her editor.

She felt that if the book was called “Getting Naked,” the cover should reflect that honesty. Once she said it out loud, she felt committed to following through.

“It was terrifying,” Bertinelli began, per People Magazine. “But here’s the deal. It’s like when I was on the phone with my editor, and I was saying, ‘I think because I’m calling it ‘Getting Naked,’ I need to actually be naked on the cover. So I wanna try and explore that.’ And she’s like, ‘Great!’ And then once it was out of my mouth, I kinda had to do it.”

To prepare, Bertinelli shared that she worked with a trusted team she had collaborated with for years. The actress admitted she eased into the shoot slowly, arriving in a cozy sweater to stay comfortable before deciding to fully go for it.

Even though the moment felt intimidating, Bertinelli described it as a powerful experience. She shared that she tends to confront things that scare her, questioning what the real fear is and pushing herself to move past it. In the end, she saw the shoot as a one-time challenge that helped her grow.

The Actress Says The Nude Shoot Felt More Liberating Than Bikini Moment

Interestingly, in her conversation with People Magazine in March, Bertinelli shared that posing nude at this stage in her life felt more liberating than a bikini shoot she did back in 2009 after losing weight.

Despite being slimmer at the time, the “Hot in Cleveland” actress said this recent experience left her feeling more confident and at ease.

Still, she admitted that she’s “never going to do it again, but it was fun to try it once.”

She added, “I’ve got this weird quirk that if I’m afraid of something, I’m going to walk right through it. And I did.”

Valerie Bertinelli Speaks About Overcoming Her Body Image Issues

Bertinelli also reflected on her long struggle with body image, explaining that she spent “too many decades” being overly critical of herself.

The memoir cover, she said, became a moment of reclaiming confidence and appreciating her body as it is now.

As she put it, “I don’t know what I’m going to look like when I’m 80, but at 65 it looks pretty f-cking good. I think you’re allowed to feel good about yourself.”

She continued, “I have felt bad about myself for too many decades. I’m going to feel good about myself now.”

The Actress Says She’s Not Ready To Date, Calls Vulnerability A ‘Superpower’

Beyond body image, Bertinelli also shared that she isn’t ready to return to dating.

While speaking at the festival, she described vulnerability as a “superpower because it can connect you to people, and it can connect you and make a relationship much more powerful.”

She added, “But you do have to be careful with your superpower. You have to be careful of who you share your vulnerability with.”

Despite her openness, Bertinelli acknowledged that sharing so much publicly hasn’t been easy. She has faced criticism online but is learning to manage it by focusing on her own self-worth. As she explained, she had to change the beliefs she held about herself to stop internalizing negativity.

She explained that writing “Getting Naked” helped her process these emotions and regain a sense of control, allowing her to better understand and become comfortable with her feelings.

Despite being open about her journey, Bertinelli admitted that sharing so much of herself publicly hasn’t been easy. She acknowledged facing criticism online, but said she’s learning to manage it by focusing on her own self-worth.

According to her, “You can’t make me believe anything about myself that I don’t already believe.’ And that’s why I had to change my beliefs of what I believe about myself, that I’m not a bad person.”

Valerie Bertinelli Calls Divorce From Tom Vitale’ Second Best Day’ Of Her Life As She Reflects on Past Relationships

Looking back on her past relationships, Bertinelli spoke honestly about her marriages to Eddie Van Halen and Tom Vitale.

She described her marriage to Vitale as particularly difficult, alleging that he emotionally abused her, calling her “fat and lazy.”

When their decade-long marriage ended, she saw the divorce as a major turning point, even calling the finalization of it the “second best day of my life.”

She later found love again with writer Mike Goodnough in 2024, but the relationship eventually came to an end. The split played out publicly, with both sides sharing their perspectives.

Goodnough criticized Bertinelli after the breakup, accusing her of “playing a one-woman tennis match thinking there is someone on the other side of the net,” and misinterpreting his social media posts and directing frustration toward him.

“Valerie is in a war with her ghosts,” he said, per Fox News Digital. “I’m just the guy who catches the bullets. And that isn’t new.”

Despite the tension, Bertinelli later reflected on the relationship with a sense of growth, saying she had been “irreversibly changed by him for the better.”

She expressed gratitude for the experience, even acknowledging that she may have “fumbled the last true good man I met.”