Valerie Bertinelli recently shared her unfinished dream about Eddie Van Halen with USA TODAY.
Bertinelli’s latest cookbook, ‘
Valerie Speaks About Her Bond With Eddie
She said the following to clarify these words:
“Wistful is a very different word than wishful. It was a wistful fantasy that I knew would never be true. The love that Ed and I shared − and we did come to a very wonderful place at the end of his life − was our unconditional love for our son.”
Valerie added, sharing how her feelings towards Van Halen evolved:
“My son was losing his father, I was in a relationship that was terribly wrong for me, and I was holding onto some sort of lifeline because of the years I had with Ed. I was madly in love with him when I met him, but our love changed. He felt like a big brother to me that; I just wanted the best for by the time he got very sick. All I wanted to do was make it OK for Ed, make it OK for Wolfie.”
Valerie’s Words On Eddie’s Coping Mechanism
The couple stayed close while co-parenting their son, Wolfgang Van Halen. Valerie was also there for Eddie after his health condition deteriorated with cancer. Valerie was on Ed’s side during his final weeks, too. In a 2022 interview with 1010 Wins’ Brigitte Quinn, she talked about how Van Halen used alcohol and drugs to deal with his pain:
“I mean, there were some crazy times — yes, because there were drugs and alcohol; I mean, the ’80s were crazy — but when you get down to it, Ed had the most generous heart. He was so kind. He just didn’t know how to be that way with himself because he was in so much pain, and he dealt with his pain through drugs and alcohol. And I was too young to really be as compassionate as I could have been back then.”
Eddie battled alcoholism and drug addiction for a long time. He began smoking and drinking at the age of 12, and after his divorce from Bertinelli, he went to rehab in 2007. Eddie and Valerie married in 1981 and stayed together for over two decades.
