Valerie Bertinelli’s ex Mike Goodnough on her ‘backhanded’ social media ‘swipes’
Valerie Bertinelli’s ex-boyfriend is speaking out.
Mike Goodnough, 54, took to Instagram on Tuesday to respond to theories that he and the celebrity chef, 64, were sending subliminal messages back and forth through Instagram posts.
“The message common to all of them is that Valerie and I appear to be communicating with each other via our Instagram posts and stories,” Goodnough wrote on the platform. “That is not the case. I have never at any time posted something on social media for the purposes of communicating with someone indirectly when I know them personally and have ample ways to reach them directly.”
The writer added he has “never at any time posted something for the purpose of getting a message to someone or getting reaction out of someone. I’ve never posted something in an effort to impact someone’s feelings about me privately or to influence others’ opinions of them publicly.”
Goodnough noted he is an adult who is “very capable of communicating openly and directly with people I know and care about.”
Bertinelli and Goodnough dated for 10 months, and despite no longer being together, he still cares for his former flame.
“Exactly one year ago, Valerie and I were together for the launch of her book. It was one of the most joyful weeks of my life. Taking true deep joy from Valerie’s happiness and success was the easiest thing in the world. It is no harder now,” Goodnough reflected about Bertinelli and her cookbook “Indulge.”
“Our relationship as partners ended. My caring about her did not,” he said.
These days, however, it appears the exes aren’t on the best terms.
“Unfortunately, over the past two months, Valerie has been prone to lapsing into a place where she has been playing a one-woman tennis match thinking there is someone on the other side of the net,” he continued. “When in that place, she reads all of my posts, centers herself in them, takes offense over wholly imagined slights, and then lashes out angrily with a ‘response’ to things that were neither to her or or about her.”
Goodnough explained to his followers that they might get the sense the two are communicating because of that.
He simply stated, “We are not.”
“I am not communicating with Valerie via my posts. I am not engaging with the things she posts. While I am disappointed in the array of hostile, dishonest, and uncalled for backhanded swipes she continues to take at me, there is no war between us,” reiterated the photographer. “She just won’t stop shooting. Valerie is in a war with her ghosts. I’m just the guy who catches the bullets. And that isn’t new.”
Along with the lengthy caption was a screenshot of a comment from a social media user that read, “I’m no detective but you and VB have a lot in common… and your Instagram posts appear to be messages to each other. I read yours, look for her next post, vice versa! Can you please work it out? Your souls appeared intertwined.”
A second screen was a quote that read, “One of the healthiest habits to learn: Take nothing personally.”
Goodnough’s follow-up post, shared later in the day, showed a black and white path with the caption: “Perfect day to walk away from social media for a while.”
“It’s wild how many people on the Internet think they know better how someone should live their life than the person actually living it,” he continued. “I don’t know anything about the situation, but…”
“Such a common grammar mistake,” the write expressed, explaining to his followers, “never use a ‘but’ where you should use a period instead. Anyway, nice day for a walk.”
The Post has reached out to Bertinelli’s rep for comment.
Bertinelli and Goodnough called it quits for good in November 2024. The “One Day at a Time” alum previously tied the knot with Tom Vitale, 61, in 2011 until their divorce in 2022.
Prior to that, Bertinelli was married to the late Eddie Van Halen from 1981 to 2007. The pair share son Wolfgang Van Halen, 34.
