The TV star’s romance started online: “This was not supposed to happen,” she recounted to PEOPLE
Valerie Bertinelli has experienced significant changes over the past two years. The TV star navigated the end of her marriage to her second husband, embarked on a journey of self-acceptance, made a comeback in the kitchen, penned a new cookbook titled “Indulge” — and amidst it all, she discovered love once more.
Bertinelli, 63, shared with PEOPLE that it was a rollercoaster of emotions for her because she had been adamant that she would never fall in love again.
“I’m in love,” Bertinelli said. “It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again.”
She added, “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.”
While she’s not yet ready to reveal her new partner publicly, the former Food Network host joyfully admits, “My belly is flip-flopping. This was not supposed to happen.”
Valerie Bertinelli had to learn to love herself before she could let love in
The TV star and cookbook author reflected on the necessity of learning to love oneself before allowing others to love her.
She emphasized that the journey had been lengthy, particularly in the years following her divorce in 2022 and the passing of her first husband, Eddie Van Halen, in 2020 due to throat cancer.
She noted that she became more intentional about her healing process, which involved numerous walks with Luna, attending therapy sessions, and recognizing her worthiness of happiness.
“I got more intentional about my healing,” she said. “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.”
Valerie Bertinelli’s cookbook was an offshoot of the emotional and mental healing
Bertinelli elaborated that the cookbook stemmed from the emotional and mental healing she had been undergoing.
She mentioned that initially, she focused on understanding why she felt undeserving of love and resorted to using food to suppress her emotions. Valerie Bertinelli also addressed unresolved issues from her past, including her relationship with Ed and her previous marriage.
Regarding her cookbook, she expressed that it served as a narrative of her journey, intertwining her favorite recipes with personal anecdotes. She humorously remarked that although it was a cookbook, it played a significant role in her healing process.
Quoting from her book, she conveyed that allowing herself to experience and express her emotions contributed to her overall well-being.
“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,” Bertinelli outlined in the book.
Then, she met her new guy on Instagram
A few years back, she established a friendly connection with her new partner, an East Coast writer, on Instagram. Reflecting on their initial interaction, she remarked, “It was strictly platonic but there was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar.”
Their communication evolved to phone conversations earlier this year, and only recently did their relationship take on a romantic dimension. “It’s crazy the comfort level,” she remarked.
Bertinelli highlighted that it had been a lengthy journey for her to learn to listen to her heart and discover what truly nourished her. “I found joy first,” she stated, “and then a man entered my life.”