At an age when many resign themselves to being alone, actress Valerie Bertinelli has defied the odds by finding intense romantic fulfillment with a man she describes as her “kindred spirit.” The 63-year-old star’s whirlwind relationship, though still relatively new, has reignited her passion for life in what feels like a Plot twist straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Bertinelli laid bare the dizzying emotions surrounding her surprise love connection in an exclusive interview with People Magazine. “I’m glad it’s happening. But it’s like, what the heck is happening?” she admitted with a bemused chuckle. “It’s a seesaw of emotions.”
The Hot in Cleveland star’s paramour is a writer based on the East Coast who is ten years her junior. Though she opted not to reveal his name publicly, Bertinelli shared intimate details about how their bond formed and quickly intensified over the past few months.
Their fateful encounter can be traced back a few years to when the mystery man left a flirtatious comment on one of Bertinelli’s Instagram posts. What began as a platonic digital rapport soon blossomed into an undeniable sense of familiarity.
“I thought he was interesting,” Bertinelli recalled. “There was something about him that I connected with that felt familiar. A comfort level. He felt like a kindred spirit.”
For months, they engaged in coy communication with the man reaching out to Bertinelli every few weeks via direct message. However, everything changed in January when their back-and-forth stretched to an actual phone call.
“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,'” the actress gushed, her voice dripping with desire. “We both had strong feelings, trying not to admit them.”
Unable to suppress their escalating emotions any longer, Bertinelli and her modern muse decided to dive into the deep end of a committed long-distance relationship. “We finally said, ‘Why are we doing this? It’s going to be challenging…but why not? You only live once,'” she recounted breathlessly.
Their first face-to-face meeting in early March exceeded even Bertinelli’s most romantic fantasies. “I’m driving up to meet him, and he’s already at the hotel standing outside,” she described with unrestrained glee. “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.”
To preserve their fledgling but fervent romance, the couple instituted a “three week rule” where they ensure they never go longer than 21 days without being in each other’s presence, despite living on opposite coasts.
“We never go longer than that without seeing each other,” Bertinelli stated matter-of-factly. “After all, it’s about finding the joy in life and sharing it.”
For the veteran actress who has endured her fair share of personal tumult, this unexpected late-in-life love affair represents an incredible second chance at profound happiness.
“Mature, kind, thoughtful, patient…it’s unlike any connection I’ve ever felt,” she marveled with a smile as radiant as a newlywed’s. After over a decade of personal struggles following her 2010 divorce from Eddie Van Halen, it seems Valerie Bertinelli has finally recaptured the intoxicating, all-consuming passion of young love once more.
