Valerie Bertinelli's Ex Just Threw A Wrench In Their Divorce

Valerie Bertinelli's divorce from Tom Vitale has hit a bit of a snag. The Food Network star filed for legal separation from her estranged husband in November 2021, 10 years after they tied the knot. At the time, Bertinelli blamed "irreconcilable differences" for their sad split, according to court documents seen by People, and it was six months later when Bertinelli confirmed that separation from Vitale became a filing for divorce.

As for what caused the split? Well, Bertinelli has denied speculation that her relationship with her first ex-husband had anything to do with the demise of her second marriage. The star was famously married to late rocker Eddie Van Halen from 1981 until 2007 and Bertinelli raised a few eyebrows in March while opening up about her relationship with Van Halen post-divorce. She claimed in her book, "Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today," that they believed the other to be their soulmate, and shared the last thing he said to her before his death was, "I love you."

But she was quick to shut down any chatter considering Van Halen her soulmate affected things with Vitale. "We grew apart. The decision has nothing to do with my love for Ed. I wish Tom the best and I know he feels the same way about me," she told People in January. However, it seems like things may potentially have taken a more negative turn.

Valerie Bertinelli's estranged husband Tom Vitale is looking for spousal support. People reported that Vitale made the request in court documents on June 2 alongside a few other requests, including attempting to stop Bertinelli from being able to get spousal support from him. Notably, Bertinelli has a pretty impressive net worth, which is estimated to be whopping $20 million. There was also a more surprising reveal in the documents, as it's been reported that Vitale plans to contest their prenup, despite the initial legal documents associated with their separation and divorce claiming they planned to stick to the terms and conditions of the agreement (via People). That could potentially delay things for the two.

While there's sadly the potential for things to turn nasty in this split, we're hoping these two are able to keep things amicable. After all, they seemed pretty happy during their fairly lengthy relationship. Bertinelli regularly gushed over the relationship she had with her soon-to-be former husband, including sharing some now bittersweet words during a joint interview with Vitale in 2010. "I've never had a male friend like I have with Tom. Mature love doesn't mean you have to be mature all the time — we definitely have our immature moments," she told AARP. "But when disagreements come up, we're able to talk in a way that's not attacking, and we'll still love one another."

Valerie Bertinelli has been fairly open with her fans about her split from Tom Vitale, and has alluded to some difficult times she and her estranged husband experienced in the years that preceded her decision to file for separation and then divorce. Speaking during a Q&A on talkshoplive in February as she promoted her book, "Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today," she told fans about her separation but appeared a little more hopeful they could work things out. "We're working on it. I still love him, he loves me. But we've been through some challenges in the last four, five years, so you know, what are you going to do?" she said prior to filing for divorce. "Who knows what makes a marriage work? I don't, obviously."

She also opened up in the book, writing in an excerpt obtained by USA Today, "We drifted from the interests that made us a couple and found that those differences can't be fixed. He is a good man who is going through many of the same issues that I have faced: What can he do to add meaning and purpose to his life? Where can he find joy? What is he passionate about? What has he learned? And what does he do differently going forward? The paths we thought we were on changed." She also suggested that their split had been a long time coming.

Valerie Bertinelli has also opened up a little about her private life on social media since she filed for divorce, mainly communicating with her fans about what's going on via social media videos. In May, she took to Instagram to share a life update after a fan told her they were "worried" about her because she'd seemed down. "I'm just having a bad day. But you know what? Sometimes we have bad days and then we get over them and then there's a good day. So I'm looking forward to the good day," Bertinelli told her followers. The video was posted the same day as she filed for divorce.

That came shortly after the former "Hot In Cleveland" actor alluded to her divorce in another video, this time posted to TikTok. The clip was set to the sound of the Taylor Swift song "Tolerate It" and showed the shadow of someone thought to be Bertinelli as trees blew in the breeze behind her. Lyrics from the song flashed up on screen as the star ended the clip by flashing a peace sign. She captioned the video, "Divorce sucks." Bertinelli also shared another pretty cryptic video to her TikTok account four days later as she borrowed a quote from Maya Angelou, saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them. The first time. Don't try to fix anything, don't try to change them. That's not your job."