Prior to their divorce in the mid-2000s, Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen had an enviable romance, per Page Six. He was the legendary rocker while she was one of the hottest stars on television. However, the couple could not make it work after 20 years of marriage.
In an interview with Today on January 18, Bertinelli said that their marriage broke down because of their naivete. “We weren’t really good to each other at a lot of points in our lives because we met so young and were very immature,” Bertinelli told host Hoda Kotb, adding that she and Van Halen “went through a lot of hell” in their relationship. Bertinelli, though, doesn’t regret having loved Van Halen and noted that they were able “to come to a beautiful place by the end of his life.” Bertinelli also expressed gratitude that Van Halen gave her the gift of their son, Wolfgang. “I think that partly Wolfie is a soul mate of mine. When I think of soul mate, I think of souls that come here to experience this life on Earth together again and get to a higher place,” Bertinelli explained. She added, “I definitely, definitely know that was part of Ed. I loved his soul deeply.”
Van Halen’s death has hit Wolfgang particularly hard too, but there have been some bright spots since, like when he got nominated for a Grammy in November 2021. The nomination was for “Distance,” a song he wrote in honor of his late dad, per Variety.
