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Weeks after revealing she was dating a mystery man, Valerie Bertinelli officially introduced her boyfriend, Mike Goodnough. And she did so with Taylor Swift’s help.
On Saturday, the former Food Network star took to Instagram to share a photo of her and Goodnough cuddled together.
Earlier this month, the TV personality and author, who first revealed she was dating someone new in March, opened up about the “three-week rule” she’s established with her new boyfriend.
VALERIE BERTINELLI MOVES ON WITH NEW BOYFRIEND AFTER DRAMATIC DIVORCE FROM EX-HUSBAND TOM VITALE
“I’ll drink what you think and I’m high from smokin’ your jokes all damn night,” Bertinelli captioned the post, quoting Swift’s song “So High School” from her latest album “The Tortured Poets Department.”
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“We never go longer than that without seeing each other,” the “One Day at a Time” star told People magazine of their long-distance relationship. “After all, it’s about finding the joy in life and sharing it.”
In the interview, Bertinelli recalled that her boyfriend first caught her attention a few years ago when he commented on one of her Instagram posts.
“I thought he was interesting,” she recalled. “It was strictly platonic, but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar, a comfort level. He felt like a kindred spirit.”
The former Food Network star and boyfriend Mike Goodnough first started talking a few years ago. (Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The two kept in touch via social media, with Bertinelli noting, “Every few months he would DM me.”
However, the couple’s connection deepened in January after they had their first phone call.
“I was very guarded, as was he,” the two-time Golden Globe winner said. “His voice had the most beautiful timbre. I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t talk to this man right now because that’s really sexy.’
“We both had strong feelings, trying not to admit them.”
They decided to give long-distance a try, Bertinelli saying, “You only live once.”
The couple met in person for the first time on a romantic trip to New York City in March.
Valerie Bertinelli met her boyfriend for the first time in person in March. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
“I’m driving up to meet him, and he’s already at the hotel standing outside,” Bertinelli recalled. “I just jump out of the car, and I run to him, and I hug him. It was the best hug. I immediately felt like I was home. This is where I belong, in this man’s arms. It all feels incredibly right.”
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Bertinelli was previously married to Eddie Van Halen, her first husband and the father of her only child, Wolfgang Van Halen. Her last marriage was to financial planner Tom Vitale. She’s been open about the difficult times she experienced in their relationship.
“I want to be clear that this process has taken a long time,” Bertinelli told the outlet of finding love again. “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.
Bertinelli said she and Goodnough don’t go three weeks without seeing each other. (ABC/Heidi Gutman/Valerie Bertinelli)
“First came the work,” she continued. “Why I thought I didn’t deserve to be loved. 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.”
After doing so much emotional work, she learned to love herself again. By doing so, she was able to open herself up to being loved by someone else.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume and Emily Trainham contributed to this post.
Christina Dugan Ramirez is a freelance entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
