Valerie Bertinelli found herself at the center of a live TV cringe moment on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle while talking about her return to acting and her new Lifetime movie Love, Again, and the slip-up has people wondering if she’ll be asked back; the 66-year-old actress navigated apologies, laughter from hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones, reflections on her love life, and memories of her marriage to Eddie Van Halen and their son Wolfgang.
Bertinelli was excited about stepping back into acting after a decade away, and that enthusiasm led to an on-air stumble that went viral. She leaned into the chat and then blurted a candid line about how she copes, saying, “She’s just trying to hold it together. I just identified with her wholeheartedly.” The moment read as equal parts real and raw, the kind of live TV bubble-wrap that pops when someone gets honest.
She continued with the exact phrasing, “Where I’m one of those people where no matter what I’m going through, I will put that happy face on so I don’t bring my s— to other… sorry. Bring my stuff to other people.” That apology only made the exchange more human, and the hosts moved quickly to soothe the moment. Jenna Bush Hager offered, “We’re just chatting with girlfriends. It comes out,” turning an awkward beat into a warm, forgiving laugh.
After the flub, Bertinelli worried she’d blown her chances to be invited back, joking and fretting about the fallout. “Geez Louise! I’ll never be invited back again,” she said, clearly half-amused and half-mortified. Then she checked herself with, “I’m sorry! God, what is wrong with me?” and tried to explain the age-tinged shrug: “You know what, it’s the 66-year-old disease where you just don’t care what comes out of your mouth. I apologize to everybody out there. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
The interview also touched on Bertinelli’s role in Love, Again, where she plays a woman grappling with her husband’s early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The film has her leaning into heavy material, which made the contrast with the bubbly on-air slip feel even more striking. She talked about the character’s fragility and the weight of caregiving in a way that showed she takes the project seriously despite the lighter moment on live TV.
When the conversation shifted to relationships, Bertinelli was refreshingly blunt about missing intimacy but also fiercely protective of her independence. She said, “There’s something about an intimate love with a partner, and I haven’t had a partner in over a decade, at least where I thought we could become partners, so I do miss that, but then there’s another part that I’m so independent and I can do everything on my own, so leave me the f— alone.” That gut reaction drew laughter and a reminder that honesty has consequences when broadcast live.
Bertinelli’s romantic past was part of the discussion, with mentions of her marriage to Eddie Van Halen from 1981 until their separation in 2001 and subsequent divorce finalization in 2007, and her later marriage to Tom Vitale in 2011 that ended in 2022. She reflected on those different chapters and even joked about the aftermath of divorce on an earlier show: “I mean I’ve had two divorces, and they were completely different,” Bertinelli said on an episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show” in January. “My last divorce, I actually, I did go back to the jeweler and sell my ring back, and I got a celebratory, like, evil eye bracelet.”
Her relationship with Eddie Van Halen remains a public part of her story, especially after his death in October 2020 at 65, following complications from throat cancer that spread. Their son Wolfgang, born in March 1991, has been a central figure in her life and the family’s public remembrances. After Eddie’s passing, Bertinelli posted, “I’m so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in your last moments,” and that she “will see you in our next life,” words that pulled the private grief into plain view for fans watching.
