Getty Images; Courtesy of Mike Goodnough/Instagram
Valerie Bertinelli Shares 1st Photo With New Boyfriend Mike Goodnough on Instagram
Valerie Bertinelli showed some love to her new boyfriend, Mike Goodnough, in their first photo together on Instagram.
The couple made their debut in a selfie posted on Valerie’s account on April 20. The Hot in Cleveland actress couldn’t hide her smile in the adorable snap with the East Coast-based writer. The photo came just days after Mike confirmed he was dating Valerie, 63, in a post written on his “Hoarse Whisperings” Substack.
“I am Valerie Bertinelli’s boyfriend … and that may well be among the most surreal sentences I’ve ever pecked out,” he wrote in the April 17 post. “But it’s true … and nothing about our actual relationship seems surreal. It just seems … good … lucky … a gift.”
“Life is crazy, kids. It just is. It’ll rain hellfire down on you for years and bring you to your knees … and then it’ll open the skies to deep blue and love and calling someone ‘Honey’ because you just love the absolute hell out of her and feel so very thankful for the gift of that feeling, the gift of her,” he continued.
Valerie first gushed over her new relationship in March but did not immediately reveal her boyfriend’s identity. One thing that was made abundantly clear right away was how strong she felt for Mike after building a connection.
“I’m in love,” she told People at the time. “It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again.”
The former Food Network star revealed that she met Mike online. “I found joy first, and then a man entered my life,” she told the outlet.
Valerie shares one son, Wolfgang Van Halen, with late ex-husband Eddie Van Halen. She married her second husband, Tom Vitale, in 2011. The mom of one filed for legal separation in 2021, and their divorce was finalized the following year.
Now in her long-distance relationship with Mike, Valerie revealed that they have a “three-week rule.”
“We never go longer than that without seeing each other,” she said. “After all, it’s about finding the joy in life and sharing it.”
As for whether or not Valerie plans on moving to be closer to her partner, that remains to be seen.
“She’s not talking marriage, not yet anyway, but she is considering moving closer to him,” an insider told Closer earlier this month. “She loves California, but a home on the East Coast would make life easier.”
