Bertinelli: I dated Steven Spielberg

CHICAGO, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress and Jenny Craig spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli has revealed she dated filmmaker Steven Spielberg before she married rocker Eddie Van Halen.

People.com said Bertinelli made the remarks on the pre-taped Feb. 25 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She is promoting her new book, "Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time."

"I went up to read for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' which I was so wrong for," People.com said Bertinelli recalled on the show. "And the next day I got a call and some flowers ... (Spielberg) asked me out. We went out a few times ... And did more."

Asked for why she has decided to divulge such personal details at this stage of her life and career, she said: "I just figured, if they're going to watch me lose 40 pounds and I'm going to be embarrassed that way, and there's going to be fat-ass pictures of me with my butt hanging out in Hawaii, I thought, 'Why not let the inner me out, too?' Because the inner me is, I hope, prettier than the outer me."