Valerie Bertinelli knows exactly how she feels about her late ex husband, rocker Eddie Van Halen. They were married from 1981 to 2007. He died of throat cancer in 2020 at the age of 65. Despite all their ups and downs, the actress still professes great emotion for Van Halen, with whom she has a son, Wolfgang.
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She shared with People, "I can't help but love the man. I went through so much with him, and I'm so grateful for the last year that we had. There'll always be a huge part of my heart that contains Ed. He gave me the greatest gift, our son."
Bertinelli added, "Would we have ever been intimate together again? I really don't think so. But I've never loved another man the way I loved Ed. And that's just the way it is."
She Was Very Young When She Met and Fell for Van Halen
Valerie Bertinelli's memoir, Getting Naked, was recently published. Looking back on her life, Bertinelli said that she was extremely young and unworldly when she and her future husband met. "I met Ed when I was 20. I was too young to know better. I know that I might get in trouble for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway because maybe somebody else feels this way — I wish I knew then what I know now. I wish I had more compassion back then."
His drinking evidently was a major source of contention between them. In addition to being a wife, she was also a protective mom to their son. According to Bertinelli, "We still probably would've divorced, because he wasn't ready to get sober, and I had to protect Wolfie."
Her Feelings for Him Endure
Time and turmoil have not dimmed Valerie Bertinelli's affection for Eddie Van Halen. She makes no apologies for that, either. She insightfully explained, "There's something deeper there. It doesn't take away the love he had in his second marriage. It doesn't take the love away that I had in my second marriage. There is just something about Ed and I that was special."
She went on, "And even though we weren't married any longer, I still loved him. He still loved me, and that's okay. You can love the father of your child. Isn't it better than hating him? So yeah, I loved him. [There will] always be a huge part in my heart for him. It doesn't mean I don't have room for other love, but I loved Ed and still do."
