'Supposed to Die With My Six Cats': Valerie Bertinelli Reveals New Boyfriend She Met Online One Year After Finalizing Divorce From 2nd Husband
April 1 2024, Published 9:50 a.m. ET
Valerie Bertinelli revealed she's back in a committed relationship one year after she settled her ugly divorce from ex-husband Tom Vitale, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The 63-year-old actress and cookbook author said she met the man online after he messaged her a couple of years ago. She said it was strictly platonic at the time.
Sources claimed Valerie swore off dating after her last marriage but she seems to have had a change of heart.
“It was strictly platonic but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar,” she told People.
Valerie said they moved their online conversation to the phone earlier this year. She said the romance recently became romantic. "It's crazy the comfort level. It feels incredibly right."
Valerie told the outlet, “I’m in love. It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again."
"I 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," she said before adding, "My belly is flip-flopping. This was not supposed to happen."
Valerie and her 2nd ex-husband did not share any children.
The actress said she did not move on quickly from her ex-husband.
“I want to be clear that this process has taken a long time,” she said. "I got more intentional about my healing. That meant a lot of walks with [my dog] Luna, a lot of therapy sessions, a lot of learning that I deserve to feel good.”
"The more I let myself cry, the better I felt. I wasn’t trying to be happy or sad or thin. I wasn’t trying to be anything other than who I was," Valerie added.
Valerie told the outlet, "I found joy first and then a man entered my life."
As we previously reported, Valerie and her ex-husband settled their bitter divorce in late 2022.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, Bertinelli filed for legal separation from Vitale in November 2021. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split and asked the court to terminate both parties' right to spousal support.
During the divorce, he demanded $50k per month in support from Valerie and another $200k to pay his legal bills. He claimed the actress was pulling in around $175k per month from her various gigs. He pointed out she had $34 million in assets with $3 million in debt. Valerie owns a $14 million mansion in Malibu and two other properties in Los Angeles.
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Valerie with her ex-husband.
In the end, Valerie was ordered to pay her ex a $2.2 million lump sum to settle the case.
