Valerie Bertinelli calls the last 6 years the 'hardest' of her life in reflective birthday post

Life is looking sunnier for Valerie Bertinelli on her birthday.

On April 23, the actor and former Food Network host celebrated her 63rd birthday with a reflective post shared on her Instagram page. Bertinelli admitted to having endured a period of struggle, which she described as lasting six years.

Despite this, she also noted that “life is good.”

“I am so over the moon grateful on my birthday this year! I have survived the hardest six years of my life,” the actor wrote in the caption, which appeared below a video of her luggage in an airport. “Now I’m in Amsterdam (one of my favorite places on earth with sweet special memories).”

The actor went on to share that she is also spending time with her son, 32-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen, whom she shares with her former husband, the late Eddie Van Halen of the rock band Van Halen. Eddie — who was born in Amsterdam — died from cancer in 2022.

“On Thursday, I get to watch my son open for Metallica!” she wrote towards the end of the post, adding, “Life is good.”

“Welkom in Amsterdam and happy birthday. To youuuuuuu,” one fan wrote. “Brings back memories (of) flowermarket.”

“So happy for you, Val you deserve to be happy; remember, on this road of life, there are no dead ends, just detours,” another commented. “May you find your road and happy place much love from Portland, Oregon.”

Recently, Bertinelli has been open with fans about challenges in her life.

On April 8, she announced that her Food Network show “Valerie’s Home Cooking” was being canceled after 14 seasons.

Addressing the cancelation in a post shared on her Instagram, the host revealed that she’d learned of the news in the summer of 2022.

“I didn’t say anything last summer because, honestly, I was hoping they would change their mind. But they have not,” she explained in the video post. “So this is it. This is the final season. I have loved making this show. It was such a dream come true. Every single part of it brought me so much joy. I love the crew. I loved everybody in production. They loved making this show for you.”

In May 2022, Bertinelli finalized her divorce from businessman Tom Vitale. A month later, she appeared on TODAY and admitted she was not interested in jumping into a new relationship.

“Divorce sucks,” she said at the time. “I can’t imagine ever trusting anyone again to let into my life. So I have some trust issues that I’m sure I’m going to have to get past.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com