Don't expect to see Valerie Bertinelli again on the Food Network anytime soon. And she is very upset about it.
Over the weekend, the Daytime Emmy-winning host took to social media to explain why she will no longer appear on the competition series “Kids Baking Championship.”
“I've been avoiding facing what I received confirmation last night… it really hurt my feelings. I know it's not supposed to be like that,” Bertinelli, who has hosted the show alongside Duff Goldman since its premiere in 2015, said in an Instagram video on Saturday.
“Logically I know that they are business, budget cuts, right? But it really hurt me to know that they're not going to ask me to be in the 'Kids Baking Championship' again. It really sucks,” she said.
The “Valerie's Home Cooking” and “One Day at a Time” star clarified that episodes of the competition series currently airing on Food Network were filmed in 2022, a year Bertinelli described as her “culminating year from hell.” . He added that being on the show during that difficult personal patch saved his life.
In 2022, Bertinelli was in the process of divorcing her ex-spouse, financial planner Tom Vitale. The couple began dating in 2004, when the actor was still legally married to guitarist Eddie Van Halen, although they had separated in 2001. Vitale and the “Hot in Cleveland” star married in 2011 and finalized their divorce in November 2022.
“Working with all these really wonderful people, feeling productive and knowing that I could spread some kindness and not just wallow in my hell and just keep my head above water, it helped me,” she said Saturday. “It was like a flotation device. So it hurts me a lot not to be able to come back and see everyone.”
Food Network representatives did not respond to The Times' request for comment Monday.
The 63-year-old Golden Globe winner spoke more about how her departure from Food Network unfolded in an X (formerly Twitter) mail on Sunday.
“I had a suspicion that maybe they wouldn't invite me back when I saw that I wasn't appearing in the Christmas specials,” he wrote. “I received a text from a third party on Friday telling me he wouldn't be back. LOL, I was basically ghosted.”
in a follow up postHe clarified that he does not feel any hatred towards his former employer for the decision.
“I have no ill will towards anyone at FN, I enjoyed every moment I worked for them and they are all lovely, kind and hard-working people,” he added. “And I understand that business is business.”
“Kids Baking Championship” is the second Food Network show that Bertinelli has been removed from in the last year. In April, he announced that season 14 of “Valerie's Home Cooking” would be the show's final season.
“The bad news is that it is his last season. Yes, Food Network canceled us last summer. I have no idea why. “I didn’t say anything last summer because I honestly hoped they would change their mind,” Bertinelli said in an Instagram video at the time. “But they haven't, so this is it. This is the last season. I loved doing this show. It was a dream come true. Every part brought me a lot of joy.”
