Valerie Bertinelli may currently be single, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have someone special in her life.
The “Love, Again” star recently answered a question about her love life at a Lifetime screening of her new film, revealing whether or not she’s open to dating again.
Bertinelli Finds “Love, Again” With Purrfect Companion
Gettyattends as Lifetime hosts FYC screening and panel of “Love, Again.”
Entertainment Weekly reports that during an interview, Bertinelli quickly put a stop to questions about her dating life.
In a clip posted to social media Pause Rewind, an interviewer can be seen asking Bertinelli, “You’ve mentioned you’re maybe not so interested in dating, but if you were…”
Bertinelli interjects with a definitive “Oh, hell no. No. 2024 sucked the life out of me. So, no.”
In 2024, Bertinelli ended her relationship with writer Mike Goodnough. The couple had been together for 10 months. She had previously been married to Eddie Van Halen from 1981 to 2007, and to financial planner Tom Vitale from 2011 to 2022.
“If I ever start dating again, I ain’t talking about it for a long time,” Bertinelli previously told PEOPLE. “I got to see if it works out first.”
However, she clarified to Pause Rewind that there is indeed someone special already in her life.
“I sleep with a black cat. That tells you everything you need to know about me,” she explains. “And I love that furry little 11 pounds.”
Bertinelli is referring to her cat, Batman, who has appeared on the Food Network star’s own Instagram account – and the Instagram account dedicated to Bertinelli’s furry friends. The actress recently reposted the Pause Rewind interview alongside footage of herself and Batman, captioning the video “My man.”
Bertinelli’s “House Full Of Cats”: “It’s Because I’m Insane”
In 2024, Bertinelli appeared on the KJ Today podcast to talk all things feline, even discussing the behaviour of her cats in the kitchen.
“Whenever I make myself anything, there’s, you know, all of these eyes staring at me… there’s some people that are not cat people and they think they’re so aloof,” she said.
“Cats are not aloof. They’re just as bad as dogs when it comes to begging… or maybe that’s good, I don’t know.”
“I know people give me grief about Batman being on the counter or whatever,” she continued, “But I clean my counter before I cook… and I shoo Batman off.”
When asked why she had a “house full of cats,” Bertinelli joked, “It’s because I’m insane.”
She clarified she started fostering after the loss of her beloved Dexter in 2013.
“He was the love of my life, he went through very many huge moments of my life with me, and he was my best friend, always,” she said. “And after he passed, I thought ‘I can’t do this anymore… this really sucks.’ He died in my arms.”
However, Bertinelli was able to open her heart to more feline company, thanks to a crew member on her show “Hot in Cleveland.”
“She fosters, and does these adopt-a-thons every other week at this park,” she explained. “And she said, ‘I know you’re really upset and you’re so sad, but just come, because these cats need people.'”
“Of course, I cried the entire time I was holding all these kittens, and the next week I became a foster,” she shared. While she found homes for “10 or 15” of her foster cats, she ended up keeping six for herself.
“Love, Again” will premiere May 9 on Lifetime.
