Photo: Dominik Bindl/Getty
Valerie Bertinelliis on the path to healing.
On Sunday, the Food Network star opened up about “hidden bruises” she “activated” after putting on a pair of pants that she waspreviously ridiculedfor wearing.
“I’m giggling because I had a small hidden bruise that was activated today. You can probably hear them because my pants are rubbing together and it makes this particular sound,” she said. “I stopped wearing them because I was…mercilessly mocked, you know, ‘I’m too lazy to do anything about it. They wouldn’t rub together if you…'” she trailed off.
TheKids Baking Championshipstar explained that “hidden bruises are something that emotional, verbal, mental abuse do to you.”
“People can’t see [them] but we got to deal with [them] everyday when they’re activated,” she said. “I’m so grateful the work that I’m doing on healing, is working.”
Even though it makes her “giggle now,” Bertinelli admitted she once “put these pants away forever” and even changed the way she walked in them. But now, she feels liberated to wear them again.
“Hear that sound? That’s the sound of freedom to me,” she said.
As always, Bertinelli shared a message of wisdom and solidarity with any of her fans who have gone through similar experiences.
Bertinelli’s post comes about after her marriage to ex-husbandTom Vitaleended last year. She was also married to the lateEddie Van Halenfrom 1981 to 2007.
The actressfiled for divorcefrom Vitale in May 2022, six months afterfiling for legal separationin November 2021. In November 2022, sheshared on Twitterthat she was celebrating what she called the “second best day of my life,” when she became officially divorced from Vitale.
Late last month, she opened up about"finding texts" and being called “fat and lazy"in the past. While updating fans on her Dry January status, she shared how she was feeling emotionally, too.
“I have been screamed at so many times and told how fat and lazy I am,” Bertinelli said in an Instagram video. “I realize…that was someone just projecting on me whatever they needed to project on me, but my part in all of it was believing it, and I don’t believe it anymore. But it still doesn’t stop the feelings from coming up and the hurt.”
Also in January, Bertinelli spoke candidly about people who endure emotional abuse in their relationships.
In anInstagram post, she reposted a video of a woman speaking about why men and women leave relationships, before she provided her own commentary after the short clip ended.
“When it comes to emotional abuse and mental abuse, it’s not talked about, because you just think, ‘I’m not being physically abused, so it’s not abuse,'” Bertinelli said.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
