In October 2020, rock star Eddie Van Halen passed away after a long battle with throat cancer. His son, Wolfgang, whose mother is actress Valerie Bertinelli, supports him. Valerie and Eddie’s marriage for over two decades ended in divorce and found other spouses. Still, they maintained a friendship up until Eddie’s death, thanks to their son. Join Facts Verse as we see what Valerie Bertinelli just revealed about Eddie Van Halen’s emotional last words.
Recently, actress Valerie Bertinelli released a memoir by Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today. Amongst numerous other things, the memoir has revealed Valerie’s personal account of former husband Eddie Van Halen’s final days. The most emotional part of this account is the final words that the rock says to Valerie and their son.
According to Valerie, the very last words that her former husband Eddie Van Halen is “I love you”. Given their separation, for over a decade these words carry some unique weight. However, it is always apparent that they still have feelings for each other after their 2001 separation and 2007 divorce.
Valerie Bertinelli is now 61, becoming a different person than she is while performing on One Day at a Time. Though she and Eddie were married for many years and shared a son, their marriage wasn’t the smoothest. Still, Valerie claims that she never grew to hate her former husband, even during their darkest periods. One of the biggest things that drew the two apart was Eddie’s substance abuse issues. Though Valerie claims that she grew to hate that Eddie is abusing, she never grew to hate the man himself.
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen
When Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen first got together, the odd celebrity pairing shocked many in their separate demographics. Valerie was seen as a girl-next-door type thanks to her tenure on One Day at a Time. Meanwhile, Eddie was the epitome of the idyllic rock star. Still, the two ended up, each of them finding the common with them other than they initially thought.
Despite the fact that Valerie and Eddie divorced and went on to marry other people, they still remained close. They got closer during the final days of Eddie, it become apparent that he’s losing his battle with throat cancer. Valerie has even expressed the possibility that, had Eddie not died, they may have eventually gotten back together. However, she has also shared that her feelings for Eddie towards the end were more friendly than sexual. They certainly bonded over their son. Wolfgang is maintaining a positive relationship with his father up until his death also with his mother.
He is well into adulthood at the time of his father’s death, and had actually played with his father professionally! Wolfgang served as a touring musician with his father’s band after his parents’ divorce. Wolfgang announces his father’s death, and Valerie was quick to take to social media with a response. Memorably, Valerie’s first Tweet after the announcement of her former husband’s death was a simple sequence of broken heart emojis.
According to Valerie Bertinelli, she’s never been into Eddie Van Halen’s music at the time that she met him. She comes to a Van Halen concert and agrees upon picking up a cassette and seeing Eddie on the cover. Valerie thought that the musician is cute, she uses her celebrity status to ensure a meetup with the legendary guitarist. The sparks apparently flew, with each of the stars bringing out a unique side of the other. Soon after their initial meeting, the two were making plans for marriage.
Valerie Bertinelli Marriage Life
Valerie and Eddie marry in 1981. At the time of their wedding ceremony, it seems that both of the stars were equally into partying. The two shared lines of cocaine while writing their vows. Valerie says to have had to help hold Eddie’s hair while he puked on the morning of their wedding date. Though their marriage lasts for over two decades and yields a child, it is a rocky road the whole way.
When they first met at a Van Halen concert at Valerie’s request, the two are very shy around one another. Despite Eddie’s image as a rock star, it seems that Valerie brought something out in him that many others couldn’t. The television star brought the legendary guitarist to his knees, and it wasn’t long before he was begging her to tie the knot with him. The two eventually did so, in 1981.
Valerie and Eddie Wedding Plan Hindrances
In addition to their rampant partying, one thing that nearly ruined Valerie and Eddie’s plans to get married was that a former groupie had accused Eddie of being the father of her child. Thankfully, a paternity test went on to prove that this wasn’t the case, and the date was set! The two would go on to tie the knot just as planned, despite likely not being sober during the occasion. Valerie has expressed retrospectively that she likely wasn’t in the right state of mind to be deciding to marry anyone. Though Valerie would later leave partying behind, the tendency to overindulge in mind-altering substances plagued Eddie for his whole life.
Throughout much of the early days of Valerie and Eddie’s marriage, the two had very busy schedules that didn’t allow them to spend much time together. This made it hard for them to find their footing in the new relationship, but it also made it hard for problems to develop. The time that the two did spend together was largely spent partying, and the two didn’t have much occasion or reason to pick fights with one another early in their marriage. However, a schism arose alongside the birth of Wolfgang.
During the early days of Valerie and Eddie’s marriage, Eddie was touring most of the time and Valerie was still working on One Day at a Time. One Day at a Time had come to an end before Wolfgang was born. Wolfgang was born in 1991, which was a decade after his parents had tied the knot. Though Valerie had moved beyond her substance abuse at that point, Eddie hadn’t. It was Valerie’s goal upon her son’s birth to be there for him, which meant working less and staying away from illicit substances. This caused a divide between her and her husband, who found the prospect of giving up his rock star lifestyle too tall of an order.
Eddie and Valerie’s Divorce
Eddie Van Halen’s biggest weaknesses were cocaine and alcohol. In the 1990s, the two spent much more time in the same living quarters than they did during the 1980s, and this exacerbated the inherent issues of their relationship. Eventually, things soured, and the two officially separated in 2001. It wouldn’t be until 2007 that the two would finalize their divorce, after which point they both went on to marry other people. According to Valerie, the reason that her and Eddie decided to separate was that they didn’t want Wolfgang to grow up seeing his parents fighting.
Valerie and Eddie felt that growing up with parents that lived in separate households was going to be healthier for Wolfgang than growing in one household with parents that were constantly fighting. It appears as if the two made the right decision, as not only has Wolfgang turned out fairly healthy and properly adjusted, but Valerie and Eddie also arguably had a stronger relationship after their separation and subsequent divorce than before it. Valerie and Eddie began to respect and care for each other even more after their separation, but in a different way. The pair remained friends until Eddie’s death over a decade later.
Not only did Valerie and Eddie remain incredibly friendly after their 2001 separation and 2007 divorce, but they also attended each other’s subsequent weddings to other people! Eddie was the first to remarry after divorcing from Valerie, with him marrying Janie Lszewski in 2009. Wolfgang served as his father’s best man during the ceremony, while Valerie watched from the audience. Two years later, Valerie married Tom Vitale in 2011. Eddie was invited to the ceremony, and his new wife was, as well! Over these years, the main thing that kept Valerie and Eddie together as friends was Wolfgang, though the two would become a little bit closer once again as Eddie was succumbing to cancer.
Valerie’s Amazing relationship with her former husband
Valerie Bertinelli spent a lot time visiting her former husband as he was being treated for cancer during the last year or so of his life. She was reportedly always on hand to groom the dying rock star and make sure his hair still looked good, and also always did her best to make sure that he was comfortable. With care like that, it’s no wonder that the rock star’s final words to her were “I love you”!
Although Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen couldn’t make things work throughout their long marriage, they ended up becoming better friends later on in life. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Valerie Bertinelli and former husband Eddie Van Halen remained good friends until the latter’s death, or did you think that they hated each other after their 2001 separation and 2007 divorce? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
