Valerie Bertinelli, 63, reveals SHE 'slid into the DMs' of her mystery boyfriend and didn't meet him face-to-face for TWO MONTHS - as she candidly opens up about the hardships of their long-distance romance

Valerie Bertinelli has revealed further details about the start of her romance with her mysterious new boyfriend - admitting that it was she who slid into his DMs, while opening up about the struggle of dealing with a long-distance romance.  

Valerie, 63, opened up about her budding romance during an appearance on The View on Tuesday and explained why she thinks 'Zoom dating' is 'actually a good thing' after meeting her beau, who is a writer, online.

'I can just speak from experience, a recent experience,' she told the panel, before explaining: 'So someone slid into my DMs.... or did I slide into his DMs?! And we spent the first two months of our courtship over DM and then texting and then telephone and then FaceTime. 

'And then I just couldn't wait to meet him and when I did, I ran into his arms and hugged him and it was like, "yeah, this is right", so I can speak from experience, it's actually a good thing,' Valerie gushed as the hosts congratulated her on her relationship.

Valerie Bertinelli has confirmed that she is in a 'long distance relationship' with her new mystery man

The 63-year-old appeared on The View on Tuesday and explained to Sunny Hostin why she is a fan of online dating

When Joy Behar asked Valerie if the man is a 'permanent fixture', she replied: 'I hope so'

The brunette said she thinks online dating 'gives you a chance to really get to know somebody'

When Sunny Hostin jokingly asked Valerie if the man smelled bad when they finally met one another in person, she replied: 'No, he smelled great!' before explaining why she is a fan on online dating.

'I think it gives you a chance to really get to know somebody and to really have a great conversation, really understand the way you communicate.

'I think it's important instead of just going out for coffee or going out for drinks and just trying to put your best face on when you can really talk about a lot of stuff and get to know one another,' the brunette added.

'I like that,' Sunny, 55, commented as Valerie responded: 'Yeah, me too! I like him, so there you go!'

When Joy Behar asked Valerie if her new boyfriend is a 'permanent fixture', she replied: 'I hope so. It's a long distance relationship because he lives here, I live on the west coast...' as Joy joked: 'Oh lucky you!'

'So I can sort of have... well... no, it's hard, but it is what it is and you make it work,' Valerie admitted as Sara Haines told her: 'Good for you.'

The mother-of-one also revealed that she and her mystery man 'kept saying' they were 'going to be friends' when they were speaking online and on the phone, but in the end 'that never happened'.

Valerie filed for divorce from her second husband, financial planner Tom Vitale, in November 2021.

The mother-of-one gushed about her new man live on air and admitted: 'I like him'

Valerie filed for divorce from her second husband, financial planner Tom Vitale, in November 2021

Valerie's first husband was the legendary late rock star Eddie Van Halen, the couple are pictured here in 1987

Their divorce was finalized a year later, with a settlement that saw Valerie forced to fork over an eyewatering $2.2 million to Tom. 

As recently as last June, she joked on TikTok that she replied to questions about whether she would 'start dating again soon' by saying: 'Yeah, f*** no,' but clearly she has changed her mind somewhere along the way.

Last month, during an interview with USA Today, Valerie mentioned her new romance, though she refrained from offering any personal details about him such as his name. 

'I’ve met someone. And I’m incredibly grateful for him. It’s unlike any relationship that I’ve ever experienced with a man,' she effervesced.

'I don’t want to say too much, but I feel incredibly blessed and lucky to have met him, because I wasn’t expecting it!' she added.

'He was not on my radar. I was going to die with my six cats and my dog and be incredibly happy doing it,' the One Day At A Time star confessed. 'So this came out of left field, and I’m grateful it did. He’s very special.'

And during a more recent chat with People, Valerie confessed: 'I fell in love when I least expected it!' and said it was 'a seesaw of emotions' because she was adamant that she was 'never falling in love again.'

Valerie's first husband was the legendary late rock star Eddie Van Halen, with whom she shares a now 32-year-old called Wolfgang.