Valerie Bertinelli Reveals the Life Change That’s Made a ‘Huge Difference’ in Her Mental Health

The celebrity chef posted about being alcohol-free for 15 months just days after her ex-boyfriend shared a “cruel” Instagram post about their relationship

Valerie Bertinelli is pointing to one lifestyle adjustment as having a major impact on her life.

The Food Network alum has kept fans up-to-date on her decision to stop drinking alcohol since last year. On Wednesday, April 2, The Drew Barrymore Show star gave her latest update on going alcohol-free.

“I haven’t had a drink in 15 months and it’s made such a huge difference in my mental health,” the cookbook author, 64, wrote of the milestone on her Instagram Stories.

The original photo includes a quote that reads, “Drinking less alcohol is one of the most powerful steps you can take to imporve your mental health. Alcohol may provide temporary relief, but it only prolongs and intensifies our struggles.”

The optimistic post came one day after her ex-boyfriend Mike Goodnough shared his thoughts on their tumultuous post-breakup relationship.

The writer, 54, took to Instagram on Tuesday, April 1, to respond to one of the many comments suggesting that he and the celebrity chef were subliminally messaging through public Instagram posts. 

“That is not the case,” Goodnough’s lengthy caption began. “I have never at any time posted something on social media for the purposes of communicating with someone indirectly when I know them personally and have ample ways to reach them directly.” 

The writer, who dated Bertinelli for 10 months, wrote, “Our relationship as partners ended. My caring about her did not,” before sharing what fans called “cruel” comments on Bertinelli’s most recent Instagram posts. 

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“Unfortunately, over the past two months, Valerie has been prone to lapsing into a place where she has been playing a one-woman tennis match thinking there is someone on the other side of the net,” the caption continued.

Goodnough accused Bertinelli of reading all of his posts and centering herself in them, taking offense to words that are not directed to her, and said she “lashes out angrily” as a response. 

The former couple split in November 2024, as confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE by a source at the time.