Valerie Bertinelli Fired From Food Network Show

The Food Network star has co-hosted 'Kids Baking Championship' since its debut in 2015.

By Allison Schonter

Valerie Bertinelli just shared some not-so-sweet news. After 12 seasons as a cohost and judge on Kids Baking Championship, the actress shared in an Instagram video over the weekend that she will not be returning to the Food Network series amid "budget cuts" at the network.

"I've been avoiding facing what I got confirmation for last night and I didn't want to talk about it last night. I wanted to sleep on it because it really hurt my feelings," Bertinelli, 63, told her followers. "I know it's not supposed to. Logically, I know that it's business. Budget cuts, right? But it really hurt my feelings to know that I'm not going to be asked back to be on Kids Baking Championship. It really sucks."

Opening up about her abrupt departure from the show on Threads, the actress said on Sunday that she "got an inkling I might not be asked back when I saw I was not in the holiday specials." She went on to reveal that on Friday, she received "a text by a third party on Friday that told me I would not be back. LOL I was basically ghosted." She continued, "I have zero ill will toward anyone at FN. I enjoyed every single moment I worked for them, and they are all lovely, kind, hard-working people. And I understand business is business. But I won't tolerate lies. I am a lot of things, but I am not greedy, nor am I a liar."

Bertinelli and Duff Goldman have hosted Kids Baking Championship since 2015. The show is currently airing its 12th season, which Bertinelli filmed back in 2022 during what she called her "apex year of hell" in her Instagram clip. At the time, the One Day at a Time alum was going through a divorce from ex-husband Tom Vitale. Bertinelli said in the video that she was "going through it and pretending everything was just fine because that's what you do! And without sounding like a drama queen, the show saved my life."

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"Working with all those really wonderful people and feeling productive and knowing I could spread some kindness and not just wallow in my hell and just try to keep my head above water," she continued. "It helped me. It was like a flotation device. It really hurts that I won't be able to go back and see everybody and say, 'Hey, I made it through!' I think I'm most sad that I won't be able to tell everybody what they mean to me."

Sources told Variety that Bertinelli's exit from the show is the result of Food Network "deciding not to renew Bertinelli's larger exclusive deal with the network when it ended in 2022," when Season 12 of Kids Baking Championship was filmed back-to-back with Season 11. The decision was reportedly made by development execs that no longer work at the network. Bertinelli's longtime manager Marc Schwartz confirmed to the outlet, "Her deal expired, they opted not to renew it. They could have come to me with an offer just for Kids. They never did. Simple as that." Food Network has not addressed the future of Kids Baking Championship at this time.

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