Valerie Bertinelli’s Boyfriend Mike Goodnough Addresses Relationship

Valerie Bertinelli‘s new man has entered the chat. Writer Mike Goodnough — who also goes by the name Hoarse Whisperer — has come forward with a sweet tribute to the 63-year-old actress and their budding relationship. 

“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. It just seems… good… lucky… a gift,” he wrote in a Wednesday post on his Hoarse Whisperings Substack. 

“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 added. “So, the little rumor going around, consider it happily confirmed.”

The writer sweetly added, “I just adore her. I’m so glad we’re together.”

The post began as a tongue-in-cheek response to rumors about his involvement with the star, joking that “the bit of gossip itself borders on lunacy.” Then, he confirmed the news and shared a photo of himself sitting with Bertinelli’s two cats. 

The revelation comes after Goodnough joined Bertinelli for a taping of Monday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show as she promotes her new cookbook, Indulge.

“I was not going to date. I was going to die alone with my six cats and my dog and be very happy alone,” she joked on the show. “He was not supposed to come into my life and here he is, he’s 10 years younger.” 

She continued, “He’s amazing. He would like to think he’s complicated and brooding, but he’s thoughtful and kind and ridiculously talented. He’s an amazing writer. He’s gorgeous, like, so hot. He does it for me.” 

Bertinelli also shared new details about how they first came to meet. 

“I actually started following him on Twitter back in 2016 or 17,” she said. “He has a really amazing Twitter following. He’s very funny, very acerbic and political at that time.” 

The star noted that she “got little butterflies,” but that he didn’t follow her back for about two years. 

“And then he started DMing me once in a while, and then started following my Instagram account,” she recalled. “Then he would just DM once in a while, just like sweet, little, nice comments. Nothing pushy… like really friendly. He didn’t want to get involved with anybody either.” 

After their chats escalated from DMs, to texts, to phone calls and FaceTiming, they eventually made a plan to connect in person. 

“I met him in New York a month ago and I’m just gone,” Bertinelli gushed. 

After the show, the former Food Network host shared a paparazzi image of the pair walking together outside the studio. 

“Hiding in plain sight,” she wrote on Threads. 

“No idea who the security guy is but you look great,” her beau commented. 

Bertinelli has been married twice. She wed rock star Eddie Van Halen in 1981 — and they share son Wolfgang, 33. Though the pair divorced in 2007, they remained amicable and Bertinelli was by Van Halen’s side when he died due to complications from throat cancer on Oct. 6, 2020.

She was also married to financial planner Tom Vitale from 2011 to 2022. 

Last month, Bertinelli’s son made an appearance onstage at the 96th Academy Awards to play guitar alongside Guns N’ Roses shredder Slash for Barbie star Ryan Gosling’s epic “I’m Just Ken” performance. 

“I mean, people are going to get sick of it, but I don’t care ’cause I’m so proud of him,” Bertinelli told ET with a laugh in reference to constantly bragging about her son. “He’s been through a lot of adversity throughout all of this, and I’m really proud of the way he’s handled it.”

Parenthood may be something she and Goodnough have bonded over, as the writer describes himself as a “father” in the first line of his Substack bio. He adds, “Dad level: expert.” 

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