Valerie Bertinelli Admits She's 'Really Scared to Date Again' After 2 Rough Divorces: 'You Have to Be Careful'

Valerie Bertinelli may call vulnerability a "superpower," but when it comes to romance, she's still keeping her guard up.

"I mean, it's still scary to be vulnerable with people," Bertinelli, 66, confessed to fans at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, per a news outlet. "And I have yet to put some things into action in personal relationships, intimate relationships, you know, because I'm really scared of dating right now."

"I've had, you know, two – I'm scared," she began, seemingly hinting at her two failed marriages.

Bertinelli was married to her first husband, Eddie Van Halen, from 1981 to 2007. She went on to marry businessman Tom Vitale in 2010, and their marriage lasted nearly 11 years. Her most recent heartbreak was in November 2024, when she split from ex-boyfriend Mike Goodnough after 10 months of dating.

"So being vulnerable with someone is a superpower, because it can connect you to people, and it can connect you and make a relationship much more powerful," she said of her outlook on romance. "But you do have to be careful with your superpower. You have to be careful of who you share your vulnerability with."

Bertinelli released her memoir, Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect, last month, which she said has given her the power to get "comfortable" with her feelings.

The One Day at a Time star confirmed last month that she's "very happy" with her single status, but is "not ruling romance out" in a People cover interview.

"There’s so many great men out there. I love men, but I don’t want them to make me crazy, and I don’t want to make them crazy,” she revealed. "I haven’t been with that many people. I haven't gone on a lot of dates either. I want calm. I don’t want butterflies."

She continued, "Now my therapist says, ‘You just had a bad experience with butterflies last time out, so why don’t you just wait and see what happens.' I have to know they’re butterflies and not anxiety … I have to learn to differentiate.”

Bertinelli also addressed her split from Goodnough, 54, calling it a "big loud mistake."

"I was given the opportunity to learn a really deep, life-changing lesson, and that is what I’m grateful for," she admitted. "Oh G--, did I learn a lot. And if I ever start dating again, I ain’t talking about it for a long time. I got to see if it works out first."