Some women find it hard to keep their weight in check, even celebrities. That’s why Jenny Craig is adding another famous face to its weight-loss roster: Valerie Bertinelli.
Valerie is the weight-loss chain’s latest spokesperson. But don’t think Jenny Craig’s biggest success story, TV spokesperson Kirstie Alley, is abandoning the cause.
“We are thrilled that Kirstie Alley has signed on to be the model of Jenny Craig’s maintenance program for 2007,” Jenny Craig spokeswoman Cozette Phifer tells In Touch. “Kirsrie’s new goal is to motivate others to learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”
“My first thought was they know I’m fat, too,” Valerie says of being contacted by Jenny Craig.
Bertinelli, 46 – who gained weight since the end of her 24-year marriage to rocker Eddie Van Halen in 2005 – teaming up with Jenny Craig is just one of many steps toward self-improvement. “I think I’m a much better person inside than I used to be,” she has said.
However, according to some sources there’s a big fight going on between Valerie Bertinelli and Kirstie Alley.
“Kirstie has worked hard to shed the 75 pounds she’s lost so far,” says a source. “She won’t want another actress coming in and showing her up. This is going to be a fight to the finish between the two middle-aged actresses, and it’s anybody’s guess who will come out on top.”
Kirstie still has some 50 more pounds to lose from her 5’8″ frame. It’s been “an uphill battle for her,” says the source.
Even worse, recent pictures show that poor Kirstie seems to have regained 20 pounds since appearing in a bikini on Oprah last November! And on her Jenny Craig blog in February, she went so far as to accuse magazine editors of doctoring her photos to make her look even larger!
Kirstie’s reps insist that she and Valerie are friends. But insiders suspect it was a big blow to Kirstie when Jenny Craig announced in March that Valerie Bertinelli was joining her in touting the benefits of its weight-loss program.
“Here comes Val, who only needs to lose 30 to 40 pounds, total,” says the source. “Val is also younger, and during her first three weeks on the program, she’s already managed to shed 10 pounds.”
Adds another source, “For Valerie to get as much attention as Kirstie, when her weight loss goal is less than half of Kirstie’s, well, it sticks in her craw. She has to go along with whatever’s cooked up, but I don’t think it will be easy for Valerie.”
Valerie has vowed to shrink from a size 14 to a size 8 and will be shooting a commercial every month to document it. But whether Kirstie will join her again in the spotlight after their first TV spot, which is currently airing, is anybody’s guess. [sources: Star, People]