41 seconds ago 2010-02-09T19:05:48-08:00
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Ogilvy Public Relations; Michael Tran/FilmMagicUs Magazine
"Let me mentor you this time," Bertinelli, 49, says Wednesday in an interview with ABC's Nightline. "I'll hold her hand. Oh, I would just - I'm telling you - I think it would be the greatest thing. There's so many people that come up to me wherever I am, and they say I was on the program a couple of years ago, and then I stopped, and then I see that you've had success, so I'm coming back. It's not a bad thing to stop something and come back to it. You're not a failure. You're never a failure. As long as you keep getting back up."
Look back at the Biggest Loser's biggest weight losses of all time!
Alley, a former Jenny Craig spokeswoman, introduced Bertinelli to the program, serving as her weight-loss mentor. When Alley left the program, Bertinelli become the new face for the company in March 2007.
The star - who lost 49 pounds on Jenny Craig - says "there never was" a rivalry between them.
"Not at all. Ever," Bertinelli says. "She opened her arms and let me in and gave me all of the greatest advice. And I miss her, I miss her."
See then-and-now pics of your favorite 90s stars
"She is a very big part of why I am here," Bertinelli goes on. "She said, 'This is going to be a lot more about losing weight, this is about finding out who you are and what you're made of.' I was like, 'No, I just want to get into a smaller size.' And she was right."
Bertinelli says women can relate to overweight stars because of their real-life heartaches and struggles.
"I look like your next-door neighbor," she says. "I mean, half of this country is divorced. Half of this country has been married. So I've been through everything that everyone else has been through."
See stars who underwent dramatic weight losses
In her 2008 book Losing It, Bertinelli opened up about her past life experiences, including locking lips with another woman when she was in her 20s. ("It was not a lesbian fling," she insists. "It was a kiss.")
Says the star, "I don't ever feel like I've been particularly wholesome, just relatable. You know, and no one really is wholesome. I'm a bit of a prude. ... I think it's probably because of all of the stuff I did in my 20s. Now I'm, you know, rebelling against my 20s."
See Us' 2008 Weight Winners!
Bertinelli -- who also battled cocaine abuse and a messy split with husband, rocker Eddie Van Halen -- says her personal dramas fueled her lifelong addiction to food.
"That's my drug," she said. "That's why I'm still not using coke. I mean, I could still be on coke right now, but that wasn't my love. Food is my love. I was getting bigger and bigger the tougher it got. I was feeding my fears and calming my emotions ... through food. And it showed."
One day, Bertinelli says, she got a phone call from Jenny Craig.
Her first thought was, "Oh God, they know I'm fat too! How do they know?"
"My life felt out of control," she says. "At that point, you are just looking for a life raft, a life preserver, somebody help me, and they were there."
According to Jenny Craig, 150,000 people sign up each week, inspired, over the years, by the likes of Bertinelli.
See photos of more stars sweating it out at the gym
She says she now has plans for an exercise DVD and is toying with doing a talk show.
She insists it isn't easier to lose weight when you're being paid to do it.
Says Bertinelli, "My job is to lose the weight for me, because you can't do it for anybody else. And nobody can do it for you."
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comments
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SteveLifetime TV...Please stop casting Kristie Alley in these modern day Mama Cass Elliot roles...its not cute...its not funny- Kristie..get help.or get out of the business...you're not cute..or funny! Casting agents...what are you thinking!! Stop casting her..she's a slob.. Valerie Bertinelli....girl are smoking HOT...you just keep getting better and better!!!report abuseposted June 25, 2009 5:50 AM PDT
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pine nutvalerie why dont u ring kirstie up & put both of ur beautiful noggins together & help each other for u to stay slim & 4 kirstie to loose her wt once again...kirstie is one sexy mamma even with all her curves...instead of talking about it try doing something....report abuseposted June 14, 2009 4:33 AM PDT
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I wouldn't care HOW MUCH WEIGHT Kirstie gained, she is STILL a beautiful woman to me and always will be!report abuseposted June 14, 2009 2:49 AM PDT
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jobenaHow much does the job pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to loose weight and I really could use the money. So where is Jenny for the real people who could use both, money and weight lose.report abuseposted June 7, 2009 12:33 PM PDT
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pine nutkirstie is hot with her blonde hair and whiskey voice i said a prayer to send her a good man that is what she really needs someone to love her 4 who she is ...hang on girl ur day will come again i just know it..got to get outside n pull weeds ya'll have a fun day n bbq tonight..............report abuseposted May 17, 2009 10:00 PM PDT
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pine nutthis is funny to read but here goes i have tried to lose by doing like 5 min of crunches like 500 reps so far so good until yesterday i have a pain that is more like a burn just to the right side of my navel god i hope its not a hernia....life sucks then u die....it is pretty cool to write what comes to mind i enjoy most all blogs but some r off the scale for those u just have to let em slidereport abuseposted May 17, 2009 9:57 PM PDT
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pine nuti myself am 30 lbs overwt & hey i cannot lose to save my soul n believe me i have tried so i cant even imagine how hard it must be to lose 50 or 75 lbs...report abuseposted May 17, 2009 9:54 PM PDT
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pine nuti love kirstie and valerie and hey take a good look at oprah she is BIGGER than kirstie how come no one slams on her?-.kirstie we care about u & hope u come up with some solutions not just to be thinner but to lose wt b/c its bad 4 yer heart-u r sexy beyond words perhaps the lap band would help however it did not help al roker see how fat he is..so nothing works 100% get with valerie/ faitreport abuseposted May 17, 2009 9:52 PM PDT
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TomValerie & Kirstie are Both Beautiful Rock On Ladies So What if Kirstie Put on some weight I still Think she's Hott ; )~ Send me a Msg Kirstie Baby xoxoxoxo ......LoverBoyreport abuseposted May 16, 2009 4:27 PM PDT
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SueIf I were getting paid by Jenny Craig I'm sure I would lose some much needed weight too.....Jenny, call me! I like Valerie but I am thinking this is just a publicity stunt by Jenny Craig!report abuseposted May 14, 2009 11:54 PM PDT
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