Valerie Bertinelli's Boyfriend Says She Cared for Him During an ‘Excruciating’ Time While They Were Newly Dating

Valerie Bertinelli's boyfriend Mike Goodnough wrote that people like her are "life’s richest blessing"

Valerie Bertinelli’s boyfriend Mike Goodnough is opening up about how she supports him.

Goodnough, who goes by Hoarse Whisperer on social media, shared a moving story from the beginning of their relationship. In the Instagram post, the East Coast writer described how a childhood friend was “nearing end of life” in March so Goodnough flew out to Los Angeles to be near him.

“At that point, @wolfiesmom and I had only been together a few months. Still, she knew how overwrought I was and told me I could stay with her,” he wrote. Bertinelli even canceled “family plans that mattered to her…for me,” he added.

“Each night that week, when I returned from supporting my friend and his grieving mother and family, she made sure I ate. The first night, she made me a sandwich,” Goodnough wrote. “I will be 54 in a few days. I don’t think I remember a sandwich I’ve eaten in my life as sharply as I remember that one… how it made me feel, the care in it, the love.”

Goodnough explained that the week was “excruciating” but “healing,” and he credits Bertinelli as the reason he can feel that way.

“It helped me find peace from losses long grieved. Valerie’s support was the reason why. She didn’t owe me that. She offered it,” he said. “There are people who show you they care and people who only tell you [they] do.”

He suggested giving “space to the latter.”

“The former — the people who are there for you — are life’s richest blessing. Treasure them, for they are treasures,” he wrote.

He paired the long caption, which he titled, “People Who Hug You Through Your Losses,” with a photo that he took during his emotional trip.

Related: Valerie Bertinelli Says It’s 'Been Challenging’ to Keep Up the ‘Three-Week Rule’ with Her Boyfriend (Exclusive)

The pair established a rule early on in their bicoastal relationship to see each other every three weeks. “We never go longer than that without seeing each other,” Bertinelli told PEOPLE in April.

Four months later, she had an honest update.

“It's been challenging,” she said in July. “The summer has been booked full. It is challenging.”

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Read the original article on People.