Valerie Bertinelli. Robin Marchant/Getty Images for NYCWFF
Valerie Bertinelli is taking her new romance to the next level.
The actress, 63, made it Instagram official with boyfriend Mike Goodnough on Saturday, April 20, posting a photo of the couple wearing matching black-rimmed glasses.
Bertinelli shared lyrics from Taylor Swift’s Travis Kelce-inspired The Tortured Poets Department song, “So High School,” to commemorate the special occasion.
“🎶 I’ll drink what you think and I’m high from smokin’ your jokes all damn night 🎶♥️ @therealhoarse,” Bertinelli wrote alongside the cute snap.
“They look happy, those two,” Goodnough replied via Instagram comment.
The East Coast-based writer recently posted about his relationship with Bertinelli on his Substack, “Hoarse Whisperings,” on April 17, admitting — in a humorous way — that the attention is a little jarring.
Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images; Courtesy of Mike Goodnough/Instagram Following her divorce from Tom Vitale, Valerie Bertinelli found love again with writer Mike Goodnough. The One Day at a Time actress, who shares son Wolfgang with her late ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, revealed in March 2024 that she was dating someone “very special” for the first time […]
“There is apparently a rumor circulating alleging that Valerie Bertinelli and I are romantically involved somehow… that we are dating or are a couple even. Valerie Bertinelli! Star of the long-running hit series’ One Day at a Time and Hot in Cleveland,” he cheekily wrote. “The person who has won two Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards and hosted her own cooking show for fourteen seasons. The won who has written six books including a #1 New York Times best seller. That one.”
He continued, “Valerie Bertinelli… dating… me!?! I know. Ludicrous. How would that even f—king come to happen in real life?”
Well, according to Bertinelli, the two reconnected on Instagram after becoming friendly on the social media platform a few years ago. She’s been healing following her 2022 divorce from Tom Vitale and the death of her first husband, Eddie Van Halen — who died of throat cancer at 65 in 2020 — and her vibe with Goodnough “felt familiar,” she told People earlier this month.
The pair began speaking on the phone, which is when things took a romantic turn. “It’s crazy the comfort level,” Bertinelli, who shared son Wolfgang, 33, with the late Van Halen, added. “It feels incredibly right. … I found joy first, and then a man entered my life.”
Bertinelli admitted she’s in love and joked that she was “supposed to die with my six cats and my dog and very happily live the rest of my years alone — I’m good alone.”
Luckily, Goodnough likes cats. He shared a photo of himself posing with Bertinelli’s feline friends, Henry and Bubba, on his Substack and wrote:
“I am Valerie Bertinelli’s boyfriend… and that may well be among the most surreal sentences I’ve ever pecked out. But it’s true… and nothing about our actual relationship seems surreal,” he wrote on Substack. “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.”
Although celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Florence Pugh have made a name for themselves in the acting world — they also proved that they can create a unique performance in the kitchen. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the former Disney star chose to sharpen her skills alongside professional chefs and her loved ones. “People who […]
Goodnough, who shares a teenage son with his ex-wife, also poked fun at being Bertinelli’s mystery boyfriend for a while.
On Instagram, he posted a video of himself watching an Entertainment Tonight segment about their romance, with the title: “When you like being the ‘anonymous boyfriend’ but the press finds your socials.”
“Welp, so much for the staying anonymous thing,” he captioned the video. “So, uh, hi… I guess. 👋.”
