Valerie Bertinelli plans to run the Boston Marathon to raise money for cancer research.
The actress says she recently shed 40 pounds. She says running the famed Boston race will give her a chance to test her endurance.
Bertinelli starred in the TV sitcom “One Day at a Time” three decades ago and, later, the drama “Touched by an Angel.” She plans to join more than 500 runners who hope to raise nearly $4.5 million for research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her personal trainer also plans to run.
The 114th Boston Marathon is set for April 19, four days shy of Bertinelli’s 50th birthday.
Valerie Bertinelli says despite her girl-next-door image, her marriage to Eddie Van Halen was hurt by infidelity and drug use – by her, too. “I wasn’t an angel, either. I cheated, too,” Bertinelli said on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” broadcast Monday. “He claims to this day that I cheated first, but I don’t know. I don’t know about the timing.”
Bertinelli, who starred in the long-running sitcom “One Day at a Time,” married Van Halen in 1981 when she was 20. She said she was “destroying my body,” trying to keep up with a rock-star lifestyle on the weekends and weeks off from taping her TV show.
“It got to a point where whenever I heard the birds chirp, I’d be like, `Oh, God, no.’ It took me years after stopping the cocaine before I was able to enjoy a sunrise and enjoy the sound of birds,” she said.
The couple separated in 2001. Their divorce became final in December. They have a son, Wolfgang, who’s now 16 and touring as bassist with the band Van Halen.
The actress, 47, said she has struggled with body-image issues since she was a child, but especially turned to food for comfort as her marriage dissolved.
Bertinelli is now a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig and said she’s lost 40 pounds. She has a new book, “Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time.”
Van Halen’s publicist said the musician had no comment on Bertinelli’s book or interviews to promote it.
