Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Episode: Valerie Bertinelli (March 4, 2026)
Episode Overview
This episode features a deeply personal and inspiring conversation between host Sophia Bush and her guest, actress, author, and cooking show host Valerie Bertinelli. With nearly five decades in the public eye, Bertinelli discusses stepping out from societal expectations, facing personal and public challenges, and embracing vulnerability as a path to healing and self-acceptance. The conversation journeys through the power of self-compassion, breaking cycles of shame, the harms and hopes of fame, and the creation of genuine community — all centered around Valerie’s new memoir, Getting Naked, and her digital platform, “Valerie’s Place.”
Key Discussion Points & Insights
On Identity, Fame, and Rejection
- Navigating Fame & Legacy
- Sophia welcomes Valerie as an “icon” and discusses the pressure of living up to both public and personal expectations. Valerie humbly counters, seeing herself as a “scrapper” who’s “just been around a long time.”
- (Sophia: “You're doing the thing... someone will talk to me about fame ...and I'm like, yeah, but I'm not Jennifer Aniston. And someone will go, yeah, but you're my Rachel Green...so are you.” – 06:19)
- Valerie reflects on overcoming industry rejection and learning to see closed doors as a form of “protection.”
- (Valerie: “Every time a door gets slammed...I'm like, okay, that wasn’t right for me.” – 07:12)
- Sophia welcomes Valerie as an “icon” and discusses the pressure of living up to both public and personal expectations. Valerie humbly counters, seeing herself as a “scrapper” who’s “just been around a long time.”
Healing the Inner Child and Alchemizing Shame
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Connecting With Her Younger Self
- Valerie shares how her current work is about “doing everything for that little girl,” finding and protecting her inner child after a life marked by emotional and sexual harm.
- (Valerie: “I'm doing everything for that little girl because she was strong and she got through a lot of shit. And I'm able to do what I'm doing because now I'm somebody that could have protected her.” – 09:23)
- Valerie shares how her current work is about “doing everything for that little girl,” finding and protecting her inner child after a life marked by emotional and sexual harm.
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Transforming Shame
- Valerie and Sophia unpack how internalized shame, especially for women, can become a self-fulfilling burden. Valerie shares how honesty and vulnerability about her shame have become sources of compassion rather than pain.
- (Valerie: “If I can harness that shame and alchemize it, it can become compassion...” – 11:55)
- (Sophia: “The scales of shame are so overweighted for women in particular… so many choices I made I didn’t even know were rooted in a desire for approval...” – 13:32)
- Valerie and Sophia unpack how internalized shame, especially for women, can become a self-fulfilling burden. Valerie shares how honesty and vulnerability about her shame have become sources of compassion rather than pain.
Authenticity, Boundaries, and Public Scrutiny
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Permission to Be Imperfect
- Valerie discusses the process of shedding the “good girl” persona, embracing tears, anger, and boundaries without apology.
- (Valerie: “It’s okay to cry... Those feelings are information. When you use that information...you can dig back and go, oh, this is where it started.” – 18:09)
- Valerie discusses the process of shedding the “good girl” persona, embracing tears, anger, and boundaries without apology.
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Discussing Abuse and Vulnerability
- Valerie opens up about being a survivor of sexual abuse and learning to speak about it without shame, despite societal pressures to remain silent.
- (Valerie: “It's taken me 10 years... that I can now say ‘sexual abuse’ without... like going like this. Like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was sexually abused.” – 19:12)
- Valerie opens up about being a survivor of sexual abuse and learning to speak about it without shame, despite societal pressures to remain silent.
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Dealing With Judgment in the Public Eye
- Valerie highlights the courage required to share her struggles publicly, even knowing it will invite judgment:
- (Sophia: “Why put this depth out there for more judgment? Is it actually kind of a freedom song for yourself?” – 16:52;
Valerie: “Yes. And I know I’ll reach somebody...if it helps somebody, fabulous.” – 17:00)
- (Sophia: “Why put this depth out there for more judgment? Is it actually kind of a freedom song for yourself?” – 16:52;
- Valerie highlights the courage required to share her struggles publicly, even knowing it will invite judgment:
Patriarchy, Privilege, and Societal Change
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Examining Patriarchy and Power
- Both reflect on how patriarchal norms have harmed both women and men, leading to cycles of suppression, mental health crises, and inequality.
- (Valerie: “We talk about patriarchy like it’s some sort of esoteric thing, but it truly is something that is suffocating for women… It's terrible for men. Men are the ones that committed suicide at the highest rates...” – 26:04)
- Both reflect on how patriarchal norms have harmed both women and men, leading to cycles of suppression, mental health crises, and inequality.
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Wealth, Idolatry & The Myth of Billionaires
- Valerie critiques the reverence for billionaire hoarders and questions their unwillingness to share their fortunes:
- (Valerie: “You don’t make a billion dollars, you take a billion dollars.” – 29:42)
- (Sophia describes “the idolatry of billionaires is PR because you don’t make a billion dollars, you take a billion dollars.” – 29:42)
- Valerie critiques the reverence for billionaire hoarders and questions their unwillingness to share their fortunes:
Motherhood, Community, and “Valerie’s Place”
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Mothering as Mission
- Valerie describes mothering her son as her greatest pride and how caretaking has shaped her, while also expressing her desire to receive care — learning to let others “pour into” her.
- (Valerie: “Once I became a mother...That was it. This is what I was born to do.” – 36:12)
- (Sophia: “You pour into everyone else and you have to let us pour into you...” – 38:52)
- Valerie describes mothering her son as her greatest pride and how caretaking has shaped her, while also expressing her desire to receive care — learning to let others “pour into” her.
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Food, Love, and Cultural Connection
- Valerie recounts her deep connection to food and family as a primary language of love and acceptance.
- (Valerie: “Food was a way for you to love people?... Absolutely.” – 46:39)
- (Valerie: “My mom...became an amazing Italian cook when she’s Scottish, Irish, and English, because they didn’t accept her. She learned how to cook to get love.” – 47:07)
- Valerie recounts her deep connection to food and family as a primary language of love and acceptance.
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Valerie’s Place Platform
- Valerie discusses her digital community, Valerie’s Place, which includes cooking shows, book clubs, community forums, and a focus on emotional healing and authenticity. She teases future plans for a podcast Getting Naked and expanding mental health resources like EMDR.
- (Valerie: “I love cooking for people...I have a book group...I also do want to start a podcast called Getting Naked and just really get naked about our emotions.” – 49:35 / 50:59)
- Valerie discusses her digital community, Valerie’s Place, which includes cooking shows, book clubs, community forums, and a focus on emotional healing and authenticity. She teases future plans for a podcast Getting Naked and expanding mental health resources like EMDR.
Healing Modalities & Emotional Tools
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EMDR and Emotional Health
- Both women praise the impact of EMDR therapy for trauma, helping detach shame and pain from identity.
- (Valerie: “EMDR was one of the things that so helped me...It immediately helped me dig in by putting aside some of the really heavy emotions and feelings...” – 51:40)
- (Sophia: “I finally, after all these years, can say I was sexually abused and move on. You can state it... it doesn’t have to spin your body into trauma that’s actually someone else’s fault.” – 52:49)
- Both women praise the impact of EMDR therapy for trauma, helping detach shame and pain from identity.
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Shadow Work & Boundaries
- They use analogies about “passengers in the vehicle” (Sophia) and “tools in a toolbox” (Valerie) to describe integrating, rather than suppressing, one’s more difficult emotions or “shadow” parts.
- (Valerie: “The shadow isn’t necessarily something bad. It's just our bravest part.” – 53:40)
- (Sophia: “That’s just a passenger in the vehicle. I’m the driver.” – 54:31)
- They use analogies about “passengers in the vehicle” (Sophia) and “tools in a toolbox” (Valerie) to describe integrating, rather than suppressing, one’s more difficult emotions or “shadow” parts.
Social Change, Compassion & Finding Peace
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Compassion Amidst Division
- Valerie and Sophia discuss the difficulty of holding compassion for those manipulated by disinformation without enabling harm.
- (Valerie: “There’s that part about having compassion for people...so under the spell of whatever’s happening... I try not to judge too harshly...” – 59:14)
- Valerie and Sophia discuss the difficulty of holding compassion for those manipulated by disinformation without enabling harm.
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Personal Work in Progress
- Valerie identifies “equanimity” — emotional evenness and peace — as her work in progress, striving to find calm in chaos and encourage others to do the same.
- (Valerie: “I want peace. I just want...to find peace in the chaos, which is equanimity, and I want to share it...” – 62:39)
- Valerie identifies “equanimity” — emotional evenness and peace — as her work in progress, striving to find calm in chaos and encourage others to do the same.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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Valerie Bertinelli:
- “I like growing into someone that could have protected her [my younger self] and is now protecting her and now trying to really find her and give her her voice.” (09:41)
- “If I can harness that shame and alchemize it, it can become compassion for me and for anybody else in the world.” (11:55)
- “The only way they can use shame as a weapon to hurt me is if I allow it.” (33:39)
- “I'm not ashamed anymore because you deserved it.” (56:28)
- “I want peace. I just want to find peace in the chaos, which is equanimity, and I want to share it.” (62:39)
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Sophia Bush:
- “The scales of shame are so overweighted for women in particular...” (13:32)
- “You pour into everyone else and you have to let us pour into you.” (38:52)
- “That’s just a passenger in the vehicle. I’m the driver.” (54:31)
- “Building community that’s honest and vulnerable and tells the truth, that's how I think we change the world.” (57:17)
- “You don’t make a billion dollars, you take a billion dollars.” (29:42)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 06:07 – Valerie’s take on the “icon” label and surviving the industry
- 09:23 – Connecting with and healing her inner child
- 11:55–14:32 – On shame, self-loathing, and alchemizing pain into self-compassion
- 16:09 – Why now is the right time for her to “get naked” and share the unvarnished truth
- 18:09/19:12 – Shame around body image and emotional health; speaking about sexual abuse
- 26:04–28:33 – Discussing patriarchy, privilege, and the impact on both women and men
- 29:42 – The myth of self-made billionaires and structural inequality
- 36:12 – The deep joy and lessons of motherhood
- 38:52 – On allowing others to “pour in” and the importance of reciprocal support
- 46:39–47:39 – Food as love, legacy, acceptance, and cultural language
- 49:35–51:34 – Valerie’s Place digital platform: features and philosophy
- 51:40–53:02 – The healing power of EMDR therapy
- 53:40–54:59 – Embracing “shadow” self and managing boundaries
- 56:28 – On no longer feeling shame for standing up for herself
- 57:17 – Community as a means for change
- 62:39 – Valerie’s current “work in progress”: pursuing equanimity
Conclusion
This rich, vulnerable conversation goes far beyond celebrity memoir. It’s a masterclass in inner work, resilience, authenticity, and healing. Valerie Bertinelli reveals the strength it takes to dismantle shame, the power of truth-telling, and the ways we can show up for ourselves and each other. “Getting Naked” isn’t just Valerie’s story — it’s an invitation for us all to experience radical self-acceptance, community, and peace, even amid chaos.
Valerie Bertinelli’s memoir “Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect” is out March 10th, and her platform “Valerie’s Place” is now available as an app.