Valerie Bertinelli, Drew Barrymore open up about body image struggles: 'Can't believe I told myse...

---

Bertinelli expressed past insecurities while showcasing a strapless dress she initially didn't want to wear because it showed her arms: &34;I don't like them.&3

Bertinelli expressed past insecurities while showcasing a strapless dress she initially didn't want to wear because it showed her arms: "I don't like them."

Valerie Bertinelli, Drew Barrymore open up about body image struggles: 'Can't believe I told myself those things'

Bertinelli expressed past insecurities while showcasing a strapless dress she initially didn't want to wear because it showed her arms: "I don't like them."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 15, 2025 4:26 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Valerie Bertinelli and Drew Barrymore on 'The Drew Barrymore Show'. Credit:

The Drew Barrymore Show

Valerie Bertinelli and Drew Barrymore are opening up about their body image struggles. **

During Wednesday's episode of *The Drew Barrymore Show*, the actresses brought out a number of formal looks they wore to various Hollywood events over the years and explained the significance behind them. As part of the segment, Bertinelli singled out a white strapless gown that she said initially triggered her "body dysmorphia" but that she came to love dearly. **

"I've gotta say, this is something to do with body image that I want everybody to hear and let them soak it up," Bertinelli said as she gazed upon the dress. "I went to David Meister, who was going to dress me for a couple events. We were gonna pick out like three dresses. And I said, 'Okay, just don't show me anything white, because it makes me look fat, and I don't want to show my arms or my shoulders because I don't like them.'"

Valerie Bertinelli, Drew Barrymore, and Ross Mathews on 'The Drew Barrymore Show'.

The Drew Barrymore Show

That is, she said, until she spotted a white gown in the corner. "He goes, 'But it's white… it's everything you said you don't want,'" Bertinelli recalled.**

"I said, 'Well, I'll just try it on.' And I tried it on and I loved it. I felt like a mermaid. It was so beautiful."**

The* One Day at a Time *star explained that the dress taught her a very valuable lesson. **

"I just think there's some sort of… I think all of us have a little bit of body dysmorphia, because we've been trained to think that we're not enough and our bodies are wrong and they're not," she said. "Our bodies are our bodies. Our bodies are beautiful. Just put it in everything and anything you want to put it in!"

Tony Danza addresses Valerie Bertinelli's claim that he never called after leaving her number

Aubrey Plaza dresses up as a Christmas witch every year and scares children

Barrymore agreed with Bertinelli's sentiment, adding, "When you look back at yourself, it's a perspective where you're like, 'I can't believe I told myself those things. I don't see them now.'"**

"No!" Bertinelli replied. "I always look back at photos of me where I thought I was fat, or I thought I was ugly, or I thought I was this, or I was told those things. It's like, why didn't I just appreciate what I had when I had it?"**

Barrymore added, "By the way, you show me those people, I'll knock 'em out. How dare they."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.*****

Fellow Drew Crew member Ross Mathews noted that it was fascinating to hear that even glamorous Hollywood stars like Barrymore and Bertinelli can feel insecure at times. "It's also interesting for us real people, right? … Celebrities on the red carpets are feeling that kind of insecurity, too," he said.

To which Bertinelli and Barrymore both responded, "Everybody feels that."

Valerie Bertinelli in 2008.

Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage

Mathews explained that it was something a lot of everyday people don't consider when looking at celebrities dressed to the nines at formal events. "When you're watching, you don't think about that, you know? I really don't."

Barrymore often uses her talk show as a platform for body positivity. Last month, she aired a video message from her *Bad Girls *costar Andie MacDowell in which the actress called out the unfair societal expectation that women must "look young" even as they get older.

"This concept has demeaned us as we age. It has now made us feel shameful," MacDowell said at the time. "I have three little grandchildren, and I'm gonna be a grandmother for them, and I'm gonna look like I'm supposed to look, because I love myself. And I don't have to look young. And I love you for doing this!"

*The Drew Barrymore Show* airs weekdays on CBS.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

Read More

---

Source: GETTY MAG

Read More >> Full Article on Source: GETTY MAG

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities