If there’s one decade that remains a blur for Valerie Bertinelli, it’s the 1980s.
During her appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday, Feb. 3, the One Day at a Time actress, 64, admitted that while she was physically present during the ’80s, she was mentally disconnected for much of that time.
As part of a segment called “Memory Bank,” host Drew Barrymore, 49, shared throwback photos with her Drew Crew panelists, offering glimpses of their younger years.
Drew Barrymore and Valerie Bertinelli on The Drew Barrymore Show
Drew Barrymore and Valerie Bertinelli on The Drew Barrymore Show, February 2025. As a large portrait of Bertinelli appeared on the screen behind them, the actress reacted with surprise.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed, taking in the image of herself lying on the ground in a portrait studio.
In the throwback photo, Bertinelli sported a blue brocade top with prominent shoulder pads, white sneakers, and leg warmers. Her voluminous shaggy bangs and layered hairstyle were quintessentially ’80s.
“That doesn’t even look like me,” she remarked, as Barrymore pointed out that she was wearing a ring in the picture.
Bertinelli confirmed that the ring belonged to her late ex-husband, rock legend Eddie Van Halen.
“I think we were married. Yeah, I was married to Ed there,” she noted.
Bertinelli and the Van Halen guitarist tied the knot in 1981 and remained married until 2007. They welcomed their only child, Wolfgang Van Halen, in 1991. Sadly, on Oct. 6, 2020, the music icon passed away from throat cancer at the age of 65.
Valerie Bertinelli, circa 1987
Valerie Bertinelli poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, California, circa 1987. Barrymore couldn’t help but point out that Bertinelli even had “Ed hair” in the vintage snapshot.
The actress recalled that she and Van Halen often borrowed each other’s clothes, which led to them looking nearly identical for years. However, beyond that, she admitted to having little memory of the decade.
Valerie Bertinelli (Photo: Getty Images)
Rockin’ Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen Throwback Photos
“I look at that and I think: ‘That is a puffy face, and someone who needs to start taking care of herself,’” Bertinelli reflected. “I mean, that was the ‘80s, though. I don’t remember that. I don’t remember anything about the ‘80s.”
The former Food Network star then shared how she had long struggled with guilt over the choices she made in her youth.
“For the longest time, I always felt guilty about the things I experimented with and what I tried when I was a young girl,” she admitted.
Barrymore responded with a lighthearted remark: “That’s such an ABC After School Special term. Were you ever in an ABC After School Special?”
Though Bertinelli confirmed she wasn’t, Barrymore revealed that she had starred in 15 and Getting Straight in 1989.
“I was an after-school special,” Barrymore quipped. “By the way, I was the ‘Just Say No’ girl with Nancy Reagan. Until I just said yes.”
Bertinelli empathized, responding, “Listen, I forgive us all for that. We coped the way we knew how to cope with a really challenging, strange life. And also, we have to start giving ourselves grace for just trying to learn through it.”
Valerie Bertinelli at the 2024 Daytime Emmys
Valerie Bertinelli attends the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Creative Arts & Lifestyle Awards in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2024.
In a February 2008 interview with Today, Bertinelli spoke candidly about the role drug use played in her life, as detailed in her memoir, Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time.
One excerpt from the book described how she and Van Halen “each held a little vial of coke” while filling out pre-marital questionnaires for their priest.
Reflecting on it during the interview, Bertinelli remarked, “It doesn’t really bode well for the marriage, I don’t think.”
More recently, the Valerie’s Home Cooking alum told that she had drastically reduced her alcohol consumption after previously using it to “numb emotional pain.”
“I would go out and have a fun time, drink, and the next day, I’d be so sad,” she explained in an April 2024 interview. “Because there was so much sadness in my life, and alcohol amplified it.”
