Valerie Bertinelli Turns 65: Inside Her Uncomfortable Life 'Sitting With Trauma' From Child Stardom and How She Had to 'Grow Up So Quickly'
Valerie Bertinelli opened up on lessons she learned from childhood trauma.
April 23 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Valerie Bertinelli candidly reflected on her child stardom and the importance of "sitting with trauma" as the Golden Globe winning actress celebrated her 65th birthday, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Bertinelli had a heart-to-heart conversation with talk show host Drew Barrymore, who dealt with her own childhood trauma from growing up in the limelight.
Bertinelli said reaching stardom at an early age forced her to 'grow-up so quickly.'
During her April 22 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Bertinelli shared she's learned it's better to "sit next to" your trauma than run from it.
The actress became a household name when she starred in the hit 1970s sitcom One Day at a Time as a teenager.
While reflecting on being a child star, she noted fame caused her to "become a grown-up so quickly."
Bertinelli said she's embracing 'the childlike wonder' she missed out on.
She explained: "You become a grown-up so quickly and then when you actually become a grown-up, like we are now, we are now children again.
"And we embrace the child in us and enjoy the childlike wonder that we see through our eyes now, at least for me, and I see that in you every day, you know? Now we can embrace our child that we weren't allowed to embrace a long time ago."
Barrymore, who knew all too well what it meant to grow up too quickly, became emotional and shared touching embrace with Bertinelli.
Barrymore added: "I think I'm starting to finally get to a place where I can look back more.
"Since I was a kid I've just been running and I never stopped running and we're all go, go, go. We're all working so hard to figure things out, grow, live life."
Bertinelli said she thinks the talkshow host was "learning to not run away anymore but walk away and reflect."
The actress said it's important to learn how to 'sit next to' trauma and 'stop running away' from it.
She added: "I think that's a really important thing for all of us to be able to do not only run stop running away from things and not necessarily running towards something, but just being able to walk away and reflect and appreciate and hold with that all the trauma or whatever that holds that is painful and also hold with it all the joy that comes with it as well or next to it.
"And instead of trying to purge trauma from our system, maybe just sit next to it where it's not an enemy any longer and you can reflect and say this has helped make me made me who I am today."
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Bertinelli said learning how to not view trauma as the 'enemy' has 'helped make me made me who I am today.'
The emotional chat came days after Bertinelli's ex-boyfriend Mike Goodnough, who she split from in November 2024, said they had a "complicated relationship" on Instagram.
He said: "Our time as a couple ended months ago but our close contact only really ended recently. So, it is more 'fresh' than it would seem.
"The one thing that was never an issue was our love for each other. I loved Valerie more than I've ever loved someone in a relationship of choice. (My love for my son is a whole different thing)."
Goodnough added their breakup was "the most painful experience of my life" and that "chapter is now closed."
