Valerie Bertinelli Talks Weight Loss & More

“Who’s Valerie Bertinelli? Is she alive? Is she dead?,” Bertinelli asks Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush as they prepare for a sit-down interview together.

“I remember Valerie Bertinelli,” Billy responds. “But all of it is sort of poured on, why?”

“Because I told some people I’m fat. And then they liked you,” she replies.

Fat may be a stretch- but Valerie Bertinelli has clearly lightened her load in the four months since jumping on the Jenny Craig bandwagon!

Valerie’s lost 28 pounds since starting her diet on March 8th – thanks to famous friend Kirstie Alley’s aid.

“Now you said you were gonna have a martini when you dropped 25,” Billy asked.

“I had my martini. And then the next night I had another one. And then the next night I had another one. Three martinis. Yeah I know. But then after the third martini on the third night I said, You know what? I think I better stop!’, and of course that weigh in I was up 4/10ths of a pound,” she says laughing.

Now bellisimo Bertinelli is putting a halt to her 4 year hiatus from acting, starring in the Hallmark channel’s TV movie, “Claire.”

And if she looks a bit different, that’s because the film was shot pre-Jenny Craig.

“When I saw it, I had just started Jenny,” she says.

“I watched the movie, literally watching it like, ‘Who is that ugly old fat woman, that can’t be me?! Oh my God!’ So I was like, ‘Eh!’”

And while Valerie is nearly at her ideal svelte size, surprisingly she has a hard time seeing the remarkable progress.

“I look at the commercials, I still see how I’m not there yet. I still, you know, I got a warped brain. I still want to get to my driver’s license weight. I’m 15 more pounds away.”

Billy tried to get Valerie to give up her current weight, but it was a Pyrrhic effort:

Valerie: I’m not giving you the actual number.

Billy: OK, can I see your wallet please?

Valerie: (laughing) No! Don’t show him.

Billy: When you hit it, will you come on Access Hollywood in a bikini?

Valerie: (laughing) No.

Billy: Come on? one segment.

Valerie: No, I don’t think so.

Billy: I mean? Kirstie did it.

Valerie: I don’t have Kirstie’s balls. I just don’t.

More from Valerie Bertinelli – including her history with Steven Spielberg and, ‘Why she’s still married to ex, Eddie Van Halen’ – Monday night, on Access Hollywood.