Valerie Bertinelli and her boyfriend have come clean about their relationship

The former "One Day at a Time" star’s beau admitted that the "rumor is true" on his Substack this week in an essay entitled "Rumors, Rumors, Rumors…" in which he jokingly wrote that he had asked "Ms. Bertinelli" in a "reporterly voice" if there was "any truth to the rumor you are dating me? Care to comment?" 

Mike Goodnough, who goes by "The Hoarse Whisperer" online, continued, "She said ‘It’s true. I totally am. You’re my boyfriend.’" 

In an interview with Kelly Clarkson earlier this month, Bertinelli, 63, revealed "this guy came out of nowhere," joking that she had thought she "was gonna die with my six cats and my dog."

VALERIE BERTINELLI EXPLAINS WHY SHE 'CAN'T JUST BLAME' EX-HUSBAND TOM VITALE FOR ‘TOXIC, HORRIBLE MARRIAGE'

A split of Valerie Bertinelli and Mike Goodnough

Valerie Bertinelli is dating a writer named Mike Goodnough.  (Dominik Bindl/Getty Images/Hoarse Whisperer/Instagram)

"He’s kind of amazing," she continued. "The butterflies in my stomach have been going on for three months now."

She explained that she started following Goodnough on social media in 2016 or 2017, and he followed her back in 2018. They eventually began to exchange messages.

"He’s a really super funny, incredibly talented writer," she explained. 

She also told People magazine this month: "I’m in love. It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again."

VALERIE BERTINELLI MOVES ON WITH NEW BOYFRIEND AFTER DRAMATIC DIVORCE FROM EX-HUSBAND TOM VITALE

Goodnough revealed in his most recent post that he "abruptly ‘decided to be a writer’ a little over a year ago," adding modestly, "I seem to be less terrible at it than a person very well could be while also not needing to clear any space on the mantle for likely future awards." 

Valerie Bertinelli with her son Wolfgang Van Halen

Bertinelli with son Wolfgang Van Halen.  (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Bertinelli and Goodnough’s relationship comes more than a year after her difficult divorce from ex-husband Tom Vitale, whom she often refers to as "the narcissist" on social media rather than using his name. 

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Like Bertinelli, Goodnough is also a father of a son whom he often writes about. 

Earlier this year, he wrote a post called "My Son, My Sun" and last November he wrote, "My approach to raising my son, how I handle things, it’s all just one big guessathon. I have no idea what I’m doing. I really don’t. I’m just making it up as I go and hoping for the best." 

Bertinelli has a 33-year-old son named Wolfgang whom she shared with her late first husband, Eddie Van Halen

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

In 2019, Goodnough wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that after being raised by a divorced working mother and alcoholic father "I reengineered my life around raising" his son after his marriage fell apart. "I made the conscious decision to shelve anything and everything but what he needed."

He added, "I made the conscious decision to give him a softer loving energy than a typical father. 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."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Goodnough has also previously dropped hints in his substack and social media about his relationship with Bertinelli, posting a picture of her People magazine cover – in which she talked about her new boyfriend – on a newsstand, dressing up in a disguise and writing that her boyfriend could be "anyone," and posting a photo of himself reading her new cookbook "Indulge."