Who is Mike Goodnough? Valerie Bertinelli opens up about being in a long-distance relationship with writer

Mike Goodnough is a lifestyle writer who mainly posts on his Substack account, Hoarse Whisperer. During an appearance on Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7, Valerie, while speaking to PEOPLE about her long-distance relationship with Mike, revealed,

"In the middle of making (summer plans) we'll see what happens. You know, but it is long distance and we'll just rack up some more miles."

She added about the pros and cons of dating the writer,

"Well, the biggest pro is that every time you see each other, especially when you haven't seen each other for a week or two, it just feels great and all the butterflies kind of kick in again. And (the) difficult (part) is, you just want to see each other all the time. I mean, I hate being apart from him."

While Bertinelli lives in Los Angeles, Mike Goodnough lives on the East Coast, 2, 582 miles from Bertinelli. The couple started their relationship off long distance, after talking online for a while. They first met in New York City in March 2024 for a date.

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All about Valerie Bertinelli's relationship with Mike Goodnough

Mike Goodnough, a lifestyle writer, runs Hoarse Whisperings on Substack. Before meeting Valerie Bertinelli, Mike had a son with his first wife in 2007, and the two got divorced when their son was two years old.

While speaking to PEOPLE in April, Valerie revealed she had no plans of finding love again after her divorce from Tom Vitale in 2022, but when Mike came into her life, things changed.

"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. My belly is flip-flopping. This was no supposed to happen."

She also added that the two met on Instagram, which was strictly platonic initially, but she felt comfort.

American actress Valerie Bertinelli and Mike became Instagram official after Valerie posted a selfie with Mike Goodnough and quoted lyrics from Taylor Swift's So High School in April. The caption read,

"I'll drink what you think and I'm high from smokin' your jokes all damn night."

Mike had earlier, on April 17, taken to Substack to reveal more details on their love story.

"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."

While speaking to People on April 3, 2024, Valerie revealed the two have a three-week rule and didn't go longer than that when seeing each other.