Valerie Bertinelli reveals she was sexually abused at 11, says 'I did not know that I would go this far...'

Valerie Bertinelli reveals being sexually assaulted

• Valerie Bertinelli reveals she was sexually abused at age 11
• Her new book "Getting Naked" details her healing journey
• She aims to build a supportive community with Valerie’s Place

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For decades, Valerie Bertinelli has been known as a warm, familiar presence on television — someone who made audiences laugh, feel comforted and, more recently, feel seen.

Now, at 65, Valerie Bertinelli is sharing one of the most painful chapters of her life for the very first time: that she was sexually abused at the age of 11.

Speaking openly with PEOPLE, Valerie Bertinelli admitted the revelation was never part of her original plan. “I had no plans to reveal this. This was going to be a book about teaching people how to love themselves. I did not know that I would go this far," she said.

But as she began writing her upcoming book, Getting Naked, releasing 10 March through Harper Wave, the process led her somewhere deeper than she expected.

“It’s about getting naked with who I am, emotionally, physically," Valerie Bertinelli explained. “It was really about getting to the nitty-gritty and getting to the parts that I thought were shameful and come to find out they’re not. They’re all kinds of different facets of what makes us who we are."

In the book, Valerie Bertinelli includes a photograph of herself at 11 — a smiling child who loved simple joys. She describes the image as “the little girl that was sexually abused." Looking at that picture now fills her with both heartbreak and anger. “It boggles my mind that this little girl was taken advantage of that way. It boggles my mind because it’s still happening … and I’m furious about it. We need to start speaking up and saying, ‘Enough.’"

It took Valerie Bertinelli more than ten years to even say the words out loud in therapy. “The very first time I said it out loud to my therapist, I thought I’m going to feel better now. It got worse before it got better," she shared. Facing the trauma stirred up anxiety and resurfaced struggles with food and alcohol. But slowly, something shifted. “I don’t feel shame about it anymore. I’m pissed off that it happened. Nobody deserves that."

She describes the end of 2024 as a breaking point. “I had a huge anxiety attack at the end of 2024 that brought me to my knees. I thought I’m not getting anywhere. I needed to do more work," she said. That moment pushed her to confront years of body shame and harsh self-criticism. “All of that shame had nothing to do with my body. It was just something to take out my shame on. My poor body. I was so mean to it. I just needed to get all those voices out of my head."

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Through it all, Valerie Bertinelli has leaned on her son, Wolfgang Van Halen, her decades-long career, and her love of cooking. Her new digital space, Valerie’s Place, is an extension of that nurturing spirit.

“I want to build a community where everybody is welcome. It’s a place where people can come in to my kitchen and cook with me because I’ve missed that a lot," she said.

When she thinks of herself at 11, she remembers a little girl who “loved to color, read, play with my Barbies and ride my bike around the block. I loved my cats. I was just a little girl."

Today, Valerie Bertinelli chooses a different word to define herself: “I’m a survivor."