Valerie Bertinelli is embracing change—both physically and emotionally—as she steps into her 65th year with confidence, vulnerability, and a willingness to grow.
The beloved One Day at a Time actress recently took to Instagram to share her new wellness habit: cold plunging.
In a cheerful red bikini, Bertinelli posted a selfie and a video of herself stepping into her backyard pool early in the morning. While her pool was a brisk 66°F, she admitted that it’s “relatively warm” for a cold plunge.
“That’s what they say—whoever they are,” she quipped in the caption.
Cold plunging, she explained, is one of the many wellness practices she’s currently experimenting with.
“It’s helped improve my mood, reduced inflammation, and honestly, it’s easier than filling my bathtub with ice cubes,” she added.
Healing from the Inside Out
Bertinelli opened up even further while backstage at The Drew Barrymore Show, where she answered fan-submitted questions. When asked about something she used to view as normal but is now healing from, she didn’t hesitate:
“People-pleasing,” she said.
“I thought it was normal because I had to make sure everybody liked me,” she explained. “But at this point, you really don’t have a choice whether everybody loves you or not—that’s up to them. It doesn’t matter. Do I like myself? Most of the time. I’ll keep working on that.”
That inner work includes seeing two therapists and diving deep into EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a treatment used to help process trauma. According to the Cleveland Clinic, EMDR involves specific eye movements to reprocess painful memories and reduce their emotional impact.
In one of her most candid revelations, Bertinelli reflected on how relationships serve as mirrors for unresolved pain.
“They’re there to trigger you so you can finally heal childhood wounds that have been chasing you your entire life,” she shared. “And if you’re anything like me, you’ve been avoiding working on those. So now I’m going to try and work through them so I can have good, healthy, authentic emotional relationships with people.”
As for getting older, Bertinelli is doing her best to embrace it. She’s well aware of the changes that come with aging—from wrinkles to sagging skin—but chooses to see beauty in the journey.
“I am doing my best to embrace my aging. It’s challenging, but it’s better than the alternative,” she said.
“Your face shows what you’ve been through—and mine shows that I laugh a lot, so I’m cool with that.”
