Valerie Bertinelli's Lifetime Battle Revealed

After struggling to win a very public battle with her weight, TV star Valerie Bertinelli thought she had things under control.

But headlines began to surface saying that the 47-year-old actress was struggling with depression, too – and in a new interview with “Extra,” Valerie wants to set the record straight.

“I was never clinically diagnosed with that,” she said. “I think we've all gone through depressions when things really get to us. When I came out the other side, I thought, 'Oh, that's what I was. I was depressed. That's why I was so lethargic and why I didn't move and take control of my life.'”

The experience has given Valerie a new passion – sharing her story. She's now writing a tell-all book about her life, to be released next year.

“Basically, it's how men and food have affected my life,” she explained. “Can't live with them, can't live without either one of them!”

Valerie revealed she and the new man in her life, former financial analyst Tom Vitale, recently enjoyed a double-date with Valerie's rocker ex, Eddie Van Halen.

“I was just at his house for July 4, he and his girlfriend came over to our house,” she said. “We were lucky because we never hated each other.”

Now Valerie has some advice for parents going through a divorce, as she did when she split from Eddie in 2005.

“You have to love your children more than you hate your ex,” she said. “It's that simple.”

Valerie also has a new outlook on her body image – she recently lost weight courtesy of Jenny Craig.

But don't expect her to flaunt her new body in a bikini on “Oprah,” like pal Kirstie Alley.