Valerie Bertinelli Sounds Off About ‘Emotional Abuse’ After Bitter Divorce

At the end of last year, the Hollywood star Valerie Bertinelli was overjoyed when her bitter divorce from her ex-husband Tom Vitale was finally settled after eleven years of marriage. Now, the former “One Day At A Time” star is opening up about “emotional abuse.” 

Bertinelli Discusses ‘Emotional Abuse’

People Magazine reported that Bertinelli, 62, took to Instagram on Friday to share a video in which a woman talked about why men and women leave relationships. The actress then gave her own insights on this subject.

“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,'” she said. 

Bertinelli went on to say that “some women get so lost in trying to make their partner feel so loved, so respected that they’ve lost any kind of love or respect that they have for themselves,” adding that a person “will leave to just find themselves again, to just love themselves again, because they don’t even know who they are.”

Bertinelli married Vitale back in 2011, but she filed for divorce from him in November of 2021. She then took to social media in November of 2022 to announce that their divorce had been finalized in what she described as the “second best day of my life,” with the first assumably being the birth of her only child. 

“My lawyer just called. The papers are all signed. They’re about to be filed,” she said in this video. “On 11/22/22, I am officially f—— divorced. Happily divorced. God. Finally. It’s finally over. YES!”

Related: Valerie Bertinelli Celebrates First Christmas Since Bitter Divorce – ‘I Can’t Help But Feel Grateful’

Bertinelli Excited For New Year

Earlier this month, Bertinelli shared a video in which she made it clear that she’s looking forward to this new year. 

“This new year’s day is coming in so much happier than last year’s,” she wrote in the caption of a video in which she twirled around with a huge smile on her face as the Taylor Swift song “Clean” played in the background. 

“From a young age, New Year’s Day has been one of my absolute favorite days, for the last 5-6 years it’s been one of the saddest. No more,” she continued. “There is so much to look forward to now, when before it just looked endlessly sad, scary, lonely and stressful. I have no idea what’s ahead for me and I’m not worried. I’m free. This new years day, 2023, is the first day of the rest of my life!”

“I wish all of you every bit of joy and happiness and kindness that you claim,” she concluded. “It’s all yours. Grab it! ✨Happy New Year✨Love you ?.”

Full Story: Valerie Bertinelli Celebrates First New Year’s Day Since Bitter Divorce – ‘I’m Free’

Bertinelli Not Open To Finding Love Again

Bertinelli has long been open about how difficult her divorce from Vitale had been on her. 

“I am gonna be more than happy to be happily divorced and spend the rest of my life alone,” she told TODAY in June of last year. “I’ll be happy that way. Well, with my six cats and my dog and my son, and hopefully one day grandchildren.”

Bertinelli then said that the divorce was so hard for her that she is no longer open to finding love again with someone else. 

“Oh God, no,” she said when asked if she will be looking for love again in the future. “Because of the challenges that I’m going through right now, because divorce sucks. I can’t imagine ever trusting anyone again to let into my life. So I have some trust issues that I’m sure I’m going to have to get past. Divorce sucks.”

We can only hope that time will make it easier for Bertlinelli to open herself up to finding love again. She deserves to be happy just as much as the rest of us do!