Valerie Bertinelli has reportedly parted ways from her husband, Tom Vitale. The Blast reported on Wednesday that Bertinelli filed for a legal separation from her husband. The two wed on January 1, 2011 at their home in Malibu, California.
The Blast stressed that Bertinelli has only filed for separation at this time. Once they are declared legally separated, the finances of each party will be considered separate, as well. At this time, it’s unclear why Bertinelli filed for separation. Bertinelli’s estranged husband is a financial planner, TV producer, and the CEO of the e-commerce company Veebow.
Bertinelli previously shared that she was introduced to Vitale by her brother, Patrick, in 2004. Back in 2010, both Bertinelli and Vitale spoke to AARP about their relationship. Vitale, who has four kids from a previous marriage, said, “Val and I were coming from a tough time and wanting to move on but didn’t want to trust anyone. We just understood each other completely. My family is her family. It wasn’t love at first sight; it was family at first sight.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bertinelli explained that she didn’t expect to get married again after her marriage to the late Eddie Van Halen ended. Bertinelli and Van Halen, who share son Wolfgang, wed in 1981 and split in 2007. “After Ed and I separated, I thought, ‘I’ll finish raising my son, and I’ll go away, have about 40 cats, and just get nice and fat.’ I thought I would be alone for the rest of my life because I didn’t want the responsibility,” Bertinelli told AARP. “Relationships are too hard.”
While Bertinelli and Van Halen did split, they remained on good terms until his death in October 2020. Van Halen even attended his ex-wife’s wedding to Vitale in 2011. Following the rock star’s death, the Food Network personality spoke out about the grief that she’s been feeling in light of the loss. She said earlier this year on Instagram Live, in part, “We had some very difficult, very challenging times, but we had some beautiful times too. And the lovely thing about grief – the gift that it gives you – is that it’s so much easier to remember the beautiful moments than the challenging and the difficult moments that you have with that person.”