Last month, we reported that the Hollywood star Valerie Bertinelli of “One Day At A Time” fame had found love again after surviving an extremely bitter divorce from her ex-husband Tom Vitale in 2o22. Now, Bertinelli is opening up about the new man in her life, who she has yet to name publicly.
Bertinelli Gushes Over New Boyfriend
“I fell in love when I least expected it! I’m in love,” Bertinelli, 63, told People Magazine. “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 added with a laugh.
Daily Mail reported that Bertinelli met the man online years ago, but their relationship only turned romantic earlier this year. While she isn’t ready to share his name with the world, she’s not afraid to tell her fans just how happy she is with him.
“My belly is flip-flopping. This was not supposed to happen,” she gushed.
Bertinelli described her mystery man as a writer from the East Coast who she first became friendly with on Instagram a few years ago.
“It was strictly platonic but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar,” she explained.
They started talking on the phone earlier this year, and things took a romantic turn from there.
“It’s crazy the comfort level,” she said, adding that “it feels incredibly right.”
Related: Hollywood Star Valerie Bertinelli Finds Love Again At 63 After Bitter Divorce
Bertinelli’s Message To Other Divorced Women
Bertinelli wants other divorced women to know that before she could let love in, she had to learn to love herself again.
“I want to be clear that this process has taken a long time,” Bertinelli explained of the years since her divorce. “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.”
“First came the work. Why I thought I didn’t deserve to be loved,” she continued. “Why I was using food to numb my feelings. All the drama and trauma I hadn’t dealt with — with Ed and my last marriage.”
This was a reference to Bertinelli’s first husband Eddie Van Halen, who she was married to from 1981 until they divorced in 2007. They remained close even after their split, and she was by his side when he died of throat cancer in 2020.
Related: Valerie Bertinelli Says She’ll Never Fall In Love Again – Here’s Why
Bertinelli’s Previous Comments
Bertinelli shocked her fans last month when she told USA Today that she’s found love again.
“I’ve met someone. And I’m incredibly grateful for him. It’s unlike any relationship that I’ve ever experienced with a man,” she said at the time. “I don’t want to say too much, but I feel incredibly blessed and lucky to have met him, because I wasn’t expecting it!”
As for announcing her relationship to the world, Bertinelli said, “I just can’t help it. When I’m flipping happy, it’s all over me, and he’s one of the main reasons.”
This was in stark contrast to comments Bertinelli made on “Today” in the midst of her 2022 divorce, when she became visibly emotional as she made it clear that she thought finding love again was not in the cards for her.
“I have some trust issues,” Bertinelli said as she began to cry. “I am gonna be more than happy to be happily divorced and spend the rest of my life alone.”
“I am gonna be more happy to be happily divorced and spend the rest of my life alone,” she continued.
Bertinelli went on to explain that her reasoning behind this was that she “can’t imagine ever trusting anyone again to let into my life. So I have some trust issues that I’m sure I’m going to have to get past.”
“Divorce sucks,” she concluded.
Bertinelli clearly has gone through the wringer in her love life, so it’s nice to see her so happy and in love again. In the end, Bertinelli’s story serves as an inspiration that it’s never too late to find love!
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