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Who Is Valerie Bertinelli’s Ex-Boyfriend Mike Goodnough? Inside Relationship and Breakup
Valerie Bertinelli’s divorce from Tom Vitale in 2022 left her thinking she was done with romance for good, but the One Day at a Time alum couldn’t dodge Cupid’s arrow forever. She went public with her new beau in March 2024, but his identity remained a mystery until the following month when he revealed himself as a man named Mike Goodnough. Sadly, things did not work out between them.
Who Is Valerie Bertinelli’s Ex-Boyfriend Mike Goodnough?
Valerie and her ex-boyfriend whipped up a media frenzy when they were spotted leaving The Drew Barrymore Show in March 2024. Valerie didn’t reveal his name at first and even joked that she and the mystery man were “hiding in plain sight” when she shared a photo of them exiting the studio on Threads. However, fans quickly deduced that he went by the username Hoarse Whisperer on social media, and soon after he revealed his name to be Mike Goodnough.
“The rumor is true,” Mike revealed in an essay via Substack. “Valerie and I are together and have been for a while now. 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.”
Other writings from Mike on Substack reveal that he’s making “an absurdly belated run at being a writer,” and he’s a father to one son who he’s gushed about on X in the past.
“I’ve been blessed with a good son. He’s a kid who boxed up his outgrown toys at Christmas so less fortunate kids could have a Christmas too. He’s a kid who donated half his Halloween candy to troops overseas” Mike wrote in 2019.
Mike also gave his followers clues that he and Valerie were involved before he officially confirmed the news. He shared photos of magazines with Valerie on the cover and shots of him reading her latest cookbook, Indulge.
When Did Valerie Bertinelli and Mike Goodnough Start Dating?
Valerie revealed she was in a new relationship in March 2024.
“I’ve met someone. And I’m incredibly grateful for him,” Valerie told USA Today in an interview published on March 13, 2024. “It’s unlike any relationship that I’ve ever experienced with a man. 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!”
In April 2024, she gushed that she was very happy with Mike.
“It was strictly platonic but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar,” she told People. The Hot in Cleveland alum said that she and Mike had a “comfort level” between them and that it felt “incredibly right.”
Valerie Bertinelli and Mike Goodnough Live on Opposite Coasts
While Valerie and Mike resided on opposite sides of the country during their relationship, they tried making sure they had enough time to see one another. Dubbed the “three week rule,” the couple never went more than three weeks without seeing one another. Plus, a source exclusively revealed to Closer on April 15, 2024, that Valerie “hates being in a long-distance romance” and was considering moving to be closer to Mike.
“She’s not talking marriage, not yet anyway, but she is considering moving closer to him,” the insider said at the time. “She loves California, but a home on the East Coast would make life easier.”
Valerie Bertinelli and Mike Goodnough Have Split
In November 2024, Mike posted cryptic quotes on Instagram, leading many to suspect he and Valerie had broken up.
“If you can go a whole day without talking to me, then go another,” one of the quotes said, while another quote he posted said, “If someone is fine without you, then let them be fine without you.”
A few days later, a source confirmed to People on November 5, 2024, that Valerie and Mike had broken up after 10 months of dating.
“They are no longer in a relationship,” the source told the outlet.
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