Share and Follow
Valerie Bertinelli’s recent appearance on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle took an unexpected turn when she got a bit too relaxed and let slip a couple of curse words on live television. The actress and author was there to discuss her latest project, a Lifetime movie titled Love, Again. In the film, she plays a woman navigating a new chapter of life and love after her husband of nearly three decades is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
The first instance of Bertinelli’s candidness came when Jenna Bush Hager inquired about whether the actress drew from her own experiences with grief for her role. Bertinelli was forthright, admitting, “I did. It was incredibly therapeutic because I had been holding on to a lot of this grief that I had just experienced over the last few years.” She continued, explaining how her character, Caroline, mirrors her own struggles, saying, “Sometimes, you just want to fall apart, and I think you can see that happen to Caroline in this movie, where she’s just trying to hold it together.” Bertinelli then added, “I’m one of those people that no matter what I’m going through, I will put that happy face on so that I don’t bring my s*** to other people. Sorry, bring my stuff to other people.”
Jenna Bush Hager quickly reassured Bertinelli, laughing off the slip with a lighthearted “Beep!” and remarked, “Oh, it’s okay,” emphasizing the relaxed and friendly nature of their conversation. The trio shared a moment of laughter, with Bush Hager acknowledging, “We’re chatting with girlfriends! It comes up.”
The actress did not hold back in her answer. “I did. It was incredibly therapeutic because I had been holding on to a lot of this grief that I had just experienced over the last few years, even,” she said, before later adding, “Sometimes, you just want to fall apart, and I think you can see that happen to Caroline in this movie, where she’s just trying to hold it together […] I’m one of those people that no matter what I’m going through, I will put that happy face on so that I don’t bring my s*** to other people. Sorry, bring my stuff to other people.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Bush Hager told Bertinelli when she apologized, before adding a playful, “Beep!” While the three ladies shared a laugh about the slip-up, Bush Hager told Bertinelli, “We’re chatting with girlfriends! It comes up.”
But it happened again later on when Bush Hager asked Bertinelli if she plans on dating again.
After sharing she has “beautiful love” in her life already from her friends and family, Bertinelli admitted, “There’s something about an intimate love with a partner, and I haven’t had a partner in over a decade, at least, where I thought we could become partners. So, I do miss that.”
She then boldly added, “But then, there’s another part of me that’s like, ‘I am so independent, and I can do everything on my own, so leave me the f*** alone!’”
The moment certainly caught Jones and Bush Hager by surprise as they both reacted with wide eyes. “Oops, that’s a second one!” Bush Hager quipped. Meanwhile, Jones admitted she “didn’t even notice it.”
“Geeze Louise! I’ll never be invited back again! I’m sorry! God, what is wrong with me?” Bertinelli said. “It’s the 66-year-old disease where you just don’t care what comes out of your mouth. I apologize to everybody out there. I’m sorry.”
As the actress apologized directly to the audience at home, Bush Hager announced Bertinelli would be sticking around for a cooking segment.
“I’m gonna cook for you, and I’ll make it all up to you!” Bertinelli promised as the segment quickly went to commercial.
Today with Jenna & Sheinelle airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.