Valerie Bertinelli Says She’s 'Never Experienced' Real Love After Two Marriages

valerie bertinelli, 65, says that after two divorces she has "never really experienced" true love, remarks she made while promoting her memoir, which is due March 10.

Valerie Bertinelli on marriage, heartbreak and safety

The actress said her two divorces reshaped how she thinks about relationships: she was married to Tom Vitale from 2011 to 2022 and earlier to musician Eddie Van Halen, with whom she had a son in 1991; Van Halen died in 2020. "Ed and I had it for glimpses, but I really never really experienced it for any length of time, " she said, adding that Ed was the closest she came to "true true love. "

How trust and timing have shaped her dating life

Bertinelli described trust and safety as central concerns: "I don't feel safe and I don't trust people a lot, " she said, noting that men who seemed safe early in relationships sometimes changed. Two years after her divorce from Vitale she went public with boyfriend Mike Goodnough and the couple split less than a year later. At one low point after that second divorce she said, "I hate men, " and has since said she will not discuss future dating publicly until a relationship is working out.

Plastic surgery, recovery and a forthcoming memoir

The 65-year-old valerie bertinelli said weight loss and a 2024 fall prompted her to remove breast implants she first had in the late 1980s. She described undergoing four surgeries in six months, losing hair and having "emotional trouble with people in my life. " Her doctor removed the implants and surrounding tissue; the breast became infected and "started to cave in on itself, " she said, and she expects to have one more surgery to even them out. She also called 2024 "the worst year" while speaking about the new book, Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect, which is set to be released March 10.

She said she is open to romance if it offers the calm and emotional safety she wants rather than "butterflies, " and that she is happy being alone for now. Her next confirmed public milestone is the memoir release on March 10; she has said she will keep dating private if and when it resumes.