Who Is Valerie Bertinelli's Ex-Boyfriend? All About Mike Goodnough

Valerie Bertinelli and Mike Goodnough went public with their romance in April 2024 and split after 10 months

Valerie Bertinelli is single again.

The former Food Network host and Mike Goodnough split after 10 months of dating, a source confirmed to PEOPLE in November 2024.

Bertinelli first announced she was dating a new man in March 2024. “I’m in love,” she told PEOPLE. “It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again."

The news came after she finalized her divorce from Tom Vitale in November 2022. Before Vitale, Bertinelli was married to the late Eddie Van Halen from 1981 to 2007.

Related: Valerie Bertinelli and Tom Vitale's Relationship Timeline

Bertinelli kept Goodnough's identity private until April 2024, when the couple stepped out publicly for the first time. Soon after, Goodnough made their romance internet official when he posted on his Substack.

“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 on his Substack called Hoarse Whisperings.

So, who is Valerie Bertinelli’s ex-boyfriend? Here’s everything to know about Mike Goodnough and his former relationship with the cookbook author.

He is a writer

Goodnough is a lifestyle writer, mainly posting on his Substack, Hoarse Whisperings. Referring to himself as the Hoarse Whisperer, Goodnough shares his musings as well as personal posts about fatherhood and events in his life.

He first became well-known for posting content on X (formerly known as Twitter) where he has over 400,000 followers. In September 2019, he shared his backstory, writing that he used to work in marketing and strategic communications as a freelancer for ad agencies and marketing consultancies.

However, after his son was born, Goodnough left full-time work and picked up projects as he could, while prioritizing raising his child.

“It’s less fun to deal with the bureaucracy and grind of increasingly corporate ad agencies, so about 12 years ago, the day before my son was born, I went out on my own,” he wrote on X.

Now, his focus has been on his Substack, where most of his content is paid and followers can subscribe to a newsletter.

He is a father to one child

Goodnough welcomed a son with his first wife in 2007. The two split when their son was 2 years old, and Goodnough said he prioritized his child above everything else, rearranging his career to help raise him, he wrote on X.

“I made the conscious decision to give him a softer loving energy than a typical father,” he wrote. “I potty trained him and taught him to read. I tucked him in and made up fantastic tales of Leo the Lion, the laziest lion on Long Island. And I loved every minute of it.”

He and Bertinelli met online

Bertinelli had no plans to look for love again after her divorce, she told PEOPLE in April 2024, but when Goodnough came into her life, she changed her mind.

"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. “My belly is flip-flopping. This was not supposed to happen."

Bertinelli and Goodnough first met when she became friendly with the writer after messaging on Instagram a few years before they began dating.

“It was strictly platonic but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar,” she said. “A comfort level. He felt like a kindred spirit.”

Following their initial messages, “every few months he would DM me,” Bertinelli said, and in January 2024, things began to heat up when they spoke on the phone for the first time.

“I was very guarded, as was he,” she 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 had a long-distance relationship

Bertinelli lives in Los Angeles while Goodnough resides on the East Coast. Two months after they first began having long phone conversations, the two met up in New York City for a romantic date.

“I’m driving up to meet him, and he’s already at the hotel standing outside,” she told PEOPLE of their first meeting. “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.”

Goodnough later joined Bertinelli on her press tour for Indulge — a cookbook filled with "delicious and decadent dishes to enjoy and share."

“It was a long week – mostly for her. I knew it would be. I knew we wouldn’t get much ‘time together,’ ” he wrote on his Substack. “In some ways, I was ‘with her’ less than when we are on opposite coasts and have easier schedules. And that was okay.”

He dropped hints about their relationship online

While Bertinelli was keeping Goodnough’s name and identity private, he was sharing sneak peeks and hints that he was her partner on his Substack and social media. After PEOPLE referred to him as an East Coast writer, Goodnough cheekily posted a picture of himself on X working on a laptop, writing, “On the East Coast writing.”

He later posted more hints, including a photo of himself reading Bertinelli’s cookbook and a photo of the book lying on a coffee table as he tuned in to her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Bertinelli took the clues to the next level when she reposted his Substack post about supporting her on her press trip on her Instagram Stories, writing, “I just can’t with this man