Melissa Etheridge Debuts New Love

Veteran rocker falls for Nurse Jackie mastermind—call it the Florence Nightingale Effect

By Josh Grossberg Jan 18, 2011 7:48 PMTags
Linda Wallem, Melissa EtheridgeTodd Williamson/Wireimage.com; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Melissa Etheridge is not the only one anymore.

Less than a year after her acrimonious split with wife Tammy Lynn Michaels, the Grammy-winning rocker has found a new partner in Nurse Jackie creator Linda Wallem, Etheridge's rep tells E! News.

So much for her little secret.

As first reported by People, the rocker and Wallem, who are both 50 and share the same birthday (May 29), have been besties for more than a decade. Wallem even served as "Best Man" at Michaels and Etheridge's 2003 wedding in Malibu.

The two became an item a few months after Etheridge and Michaels split, stepping out together for the Emmys last August, and are now happily in a stable "committed relationship."

That's a far better situation than where Etheridge found herself just a few months ago, when Michaels took the singer to court demanding sole custody of their 3-year-old twins, daughter Johnnie Rose and son Miller (Melissa also has two children from a previous relationship).

The Popular actress also wrote on her blog that she felt "blindsided" when the Oscar winner and breast cancer survivor filed for divorce.

While she irons out her personal life, Etheridge is gearing up to add Broadway star to her résumé, subbing for fellow rocker Billie Joe Armstrong in the role of St. Jimmy in Green Day's American Idiot Feb. 1-6.