At 65, the actress is no longer pretending every change in her body deserves panic, and she recently made clear that one deeply personal issue has become easier to live with for one simple reason: there is no pressure right now to make it acceptable to someone else.
Valerie Bertinelli brought that mindset into her March 24, 2026, conversation with Drew Barrymore while discussing her new book. As she spoke about aging, she began revealing exactly how much her body has been through and why she is done dressing that reality up.
A Conversation That Took a Very Personal Turn
The discussion centered on “Getting Naked,” where Bertinelli opens up about growing older, divorce, menopause, generational pain, and the pressure women often feel to stay perfect no matter what they are carrying inside.
There was nothing polished about the way she spoke with Barrymore. The two women were frank from the start, and that openness gave Bertinelli room to say things many celebrities would normally edit out.
At one point, they began complimenting each other’s looks, and then Barrymore said, “We’re not two women chasing that dragon of youth.”
The “One Day at a Time” actress laughed and responded, “No. I think I didn’t know you long before I was literally showing you my boobs.”
Barrymore matched her candor right away, “Oh, my god. Of course. And I was showing you mine.” But Bertinelli was leading their discussion up to somewhere more revealing.
What She Chose to Say Out Loud
She went on to explain why that moment between them had happened in the first place. Referring to the deeply personal material in her book, she said:
“I mean, because I have. I mean, if you read the book, you’ll know that my boobs are deformed and I talk very extensively and graphically about how deformed they are.”
This is because she had four surgeries in 2024.
Bertinelli also shared Barrymore’s reaction after seeing what she had been dealing with. “Drew is like, ‘How bad can it be?’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ And she goes, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s bad,'” she revealed.
And according to Bertinelli, that kind of honesty is one of the reasons why she likes and trusts Barrymore.
The “50 First Dates” actress added, “Yeah. And then I proceeded to be like, ‘Okay, here’s. Here’s what we can do.'”
The exchange was funny in places, but it also showed how much relief there can be in saying things exactly as they are. Bertinelli then added:
“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I totally took away from your question. My boobs suck, but I’m not dating, so it doesn’t matter…. um yet.”
It was a joke, but it also exposed the logic behind the way she is looking at all of this now. The issue is still there, but the pressure to make herself appealing to a partner is not currently a priority.
The Surgeries Behind the Confession
In a People interview from earlier this month, Bertinelli explained that she got breast implants in the late 1980s, liked them for a while, and later grew to hate them.
After years of gaining and losing weight, she said she no longer liked how they looked and felt ready to return to what she originally had. In 2024, she had the implants removed after a fall.
Unfortunately, the outcome was not what she expected.
Bertinelli developed a serious infection that led to another surgery. She recalled, “The look on my doctor’s face when he finally saw me made me think ‘Oh [expletive]’ I guess I should have come in earlier.”
During this second operation, the physician had to take everything out. “It became a crater,” she described, adding that she required one more procedure to even her chest afterward.
Even while describing the hardest parts, Bertinelli kept reaching for humor. Pointing to her cats, she joked, “Me and these guys are the only ones looking at my boobs anyways.”
Then she added, “I don’t care because I can’t see without my glasses on … I’ll have to date somebody who can’t see.”
Her Book Is All About Reclaiming the Narrative
A few days before her conversation with Barrymore, Bertinelli had already given followers a glimpse of how she wanted to frame this chapter of her life. In a March 21 Instagram post, she shared behind-the-scenes images from the cover shoot for “Getting Naked.”
The photos showed her in various states of undress, but the mood felt purposeful, calm, and uplifting.
Her caption made things clearer:
“Writing getting naked was a process. The process of uncovering my shame. The process of owning it, so no one could ever use it as a weapon to hurt me ever again.”
She continued, “I think we can never fully protect ourselves from feeling exposed, but the process of writing this book and posing for the cover was a beautiful fear I was able to walk through and get to the other side of.”
She added that allowing yourself to feel fear is one of the strengths all people have, concluding:
“I hope you find your own joy in disarming any weapon an individual may disingenuously use to hurt you. You alone have the power to free yourself.”
A Silver Surprise and Playful Transformations
The actress has always been open about her life, both online and with Barrymore. In a lighter moment, she also unveiled a striking hair transformation on February 4.
In a video shared by “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Bertinelli and Barrymore revealed luminous gray hair transformations with stylist Chris Appleton. Whether achieved with wigs or not, Appleton later shared that he used Schwarzkopf Professional products, noting, “Gray hair .. challenge accepted.”
The actress has continued to experiment with her look, including a bold blonde wig in November 2025. However, she quickly returned to her brunette roots the next day, writing:
“Back to the real me 🥰. It’s always fun to play dress up and fool around with hair and make up, but when I look in the mirror, I want to see…me.”
She reflected on her past as a people-pleaser and emphasized learning to set boundaries and recognize her own worth.
A Lifelong Evolution of Style and Identity
Bertinelli’s hair journey stretches back to her 1975 debut on “One Day at a Time,” where she was known for her long, center-parted hair.
In the 1980s, she embraced layered, voluminous styles. By the 1990s, she shifted to shorter, sleeker cuts. In 2024, she experimented with subtle ash tones.
Not every change worked — in 2023, a DIY wolf cut ended up resembling her 1970s sitcom look, a moment she shared humorously with fans.
At a Crossroads: Aging and Identity
Now, in 2026, Bertinelli finds herself reflecting more deeply on identity than appearance.
“Should I do it? Should I grow out my grey?” she asked on Instagram, noting that the question feels tied to something deeper.
She spoke about the tension between how we look and how we feel, asking whether they need to align.
“I’m still looking for that little brown eyed, brunette girl to reflect back at me,” she wrote, describing a younger version of herself who was quiet, compliant, and eager to please.
She now wants to give that version of herself the emotional safety she never had.
In embracing change — whether physical or emotional — Valerie Bertinelli is not just acknowledging aging. She is reclaiming her identity and redefining what it means to feel at home in her own body.
Source: amomama.com
