Valerie Bertinelli Cites 'Irreconcilable Differences' In Divorce Lawsuit Against Tom Vitale

Valerie Bertinelliand her partner Tom Vitale have decided to divorce after ten years of marriage. The pair began dating in 2004 and married on January 1, 2011, in Malibu, California.

After their marriage, Bertinelli became the stepmother to four of Tom Vitale's children. Similarly, the actress brought her son, Wolfgang Van Halen, into the union, whom she had with her ex-husband, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Eddie Van Halen.

Years into their marriage, Bertinelli, and Vitale began to have marital troubles, prompting them to split until their concerns were resolved. However, it appears that their marriage challenges have proven to be greater than their bond, as the actress recently filed for legal divorce from her partner in a bid to end their marital ties permanently.

On Thursday, May 12, the 62-year-old food network personality filed the paperwork in Los Angeles. The actress cum novelist stated "irreconcilable differences" as the cause for the breakup in the filings.

The Blast first reported on the Food Network star's move to end her marriage to Vitale by filling for a Legal Separation. At the time, it wasn't clear if that would leave room for reconciliation or lead to a full-blown divorce. Now it's very certain as Bertinelli's latest lawsuit signals that it is time to put sleeping dogs to rest and completely dissolve their marriage.

According to the court filings, the couple had a prenuptial agreement in December 2010 that is "in full force and effect and entirely binding on the parties" for properties and other assets acquired during the marriage.

The entire divorce procedure is likely to go quickly since the couple's decision to live apart for years will affect the court's decision. Furthermore, the pair did not have their own children during their marriage, so there will be no complications with legal custody or child support payments in the long term. This changes if they had formalized their status as stepparents to the children they had before the marriage.

A more in-depth explanation for the reason for the divorce could be seen in Bertinelli's memoir "Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today," released earlier this year. As per USA Today, an excerpt from the book described that the couple no longer saw eye to eye on several issues, which led to the initial split in 2019.

"We drifted from the interests that made us a couple and found that those differences can't be fixed," she penned.

"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."

The "One Day At A Time" alum further described in the book that the decision to split with Vitale was "a slow, painful one" which would have her reeling from its effects in the long term. Additionally, she stated that the separation "has nothing to do with Ed," her late ex-husband, adding that her marriage issues started five years before Halen's death in 2020.

On a bigger note, "Enough Already" seemed to be a channel for the actress to convey her pent-up grief about the death of her first husband, Van Halen.

"I wasn't expecting to write a book about grief when I started it, but I was in the thick of it," she says. "It actually ended up being very cathartic to write about it," the actress said as per USA Today.

Bertinelli began writing the book weeks after the guitarist's death on Oct. 6, 2020, following his long-term battle with cancer.

While the divorce processes between the actress and Vitale will be concluded at a later date, Bertinelli is now focused on her work with Food Network, having penned a new contract that started in December 2021.

The mother of one joined the Network in 2015 as the host of two cooking series alongside cake designer Duff Goldman, "Valerie's Home Cooking" and "Kids Baking Championship." She received two Daytime Emmy Awards out of six nominations for the former and garnered critical acclaim for both shows.

Bertinelli's responsibilities on the Food Network grew in 2019, with the addition of the new series "Family Food Showdown" and "Family Restaurant Rivals." The cooking connoisseur cum food host is also a two-time Golden Globe winner, earning the award during her long-term stint in the nineties sitcom "One Day At A Time."

It was announced in June 2021 that Bertinelli would star as Lisa in NBC's single-camera comedy pilot, "Hungry," marking her return to the silver screen since her last appearance in "Hot In Cleveland" 2015.