VALERIE BERTINELLII‘s new husband Tom Vitale is a convicted wife beater – but she has assured her worried friends that he has put his violent past behind him.
However, an expert warns that the former One Day at a Time star, 50, could be asking for trouble by marrying a man with a history of domestic abuse.
"Valerie has heard the stories about Tom, but she says that he could never hurt anybody. He’s always acted like the perfect gentleman to her," said an insider.
"Valerie is absolutely convinced that whatever problems Tom may have had, they are all in the past. She thinks of him as her soul mate."
Court papers reveal Vitale was jailed in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2001 for allegedly attacking his now ex-wife Sharon, pinning her to the ground and then resisting arrest.
The former financial planner was also investigated for allegedly punching the couple’s then 11-year-old daughter. He was ordered to attend 12 weeks of anger management classes as part of a sentence.
Vitale, 49, was back in court again in 2002 for allegedly attacking a man, ripping off his clothes and damaging a cell phone.
In January 2004, he was slapped with 24 months of supervised probation for yet another assault charge.
Recently, Valerie wed Vitale in a romantic sunset ceremony on New Year’s Day at her Malibu estate.
However, his anger-management issues could cause serious problems for her, cautions a top psychologist.
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