Valerie Bertinelli Says Eddie Van Halen Was Left Alone In The Last Couple Years Of His Life

Late Van Halen icon Eddie Van Halen‘s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli reflected on her relationship with the guitarist during the final years of his life. Apparently, Van Halen was left alone in his house during the last years of his life before his tragic passing in 2020.

In 1980, Eddie Van Halen met actress Valerie Bertinelli at a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. They instantly felt a connection as their marriage came only eight months later, in California on April 11, 1981. The couple welcomed their son Wolfgang Van Halen in 1991, but their marriage ended in 2005 when Bertinelli filed for divorce after four years of separation.

After their love affair ended, Eddie Van Halen proposed to his girlfriend Janie Liszewski the following year, who is an actress and stuntwoman. Bertinelli also remained, and thus the duo remained friends. In fact, Valerie even attended her former husband’s wedding in 2009 at his Studio City estate.

During the tough times towards the end of Eddie Van Halen’s life, Valerie Bertinelli played a role in standing by Eddie’s side. After the musician battled cancer for years, which eventually put him in a hospital in 2019, Eddie Van Halen passed away following a stroke on October 6, 2020, at 65. He was surrounded by his wife Janie, son Wolfgang, brother Alex, and ex-wife Valerie.

Valerie Bertinelli openly wrote about her relationship with Eddie Van Halen in her newly released book entitled ‘Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today.’ However, she also reflected on her final days with Eddie Van Halen during an interview with Washington Post Live.

Bertinelli admitted that Eddie was angry at her when she first left him, but their relationship improved over time. However, she admitted that she didn’t spend enough time with her ex-husband during the last years of his life, as all Eddie wanted at the time was to reconnect if you ask Bertinelli.

While Eddie’s desire was to be surrounded by the people he loved and cared for, he was left alone in his house during the last couple of years of his life, according to Valerie. The reason she candidly wrote about those times, as well as her regrets, was apparently to show people that they will never regret expressing their love, but keeping it to themselves will cause heartbreak.

About her relationship with Eddie, Valerie said:

“He was angry at me for a few years when I first left, he was very angry at me. I don’t know how else to say it except I felt like the love we had for each other was deeper than just marital love or sexual love. I loved him deeply through my soul, and I felt that same thing from him.

It seemed like he spent that whole last year really wanting to connect, and I didn’t realize at the time that this might have been our last year together. So I write a lot in the book about regretting not going over there more. Because the last couple of years of his life, he was alone in that house, and I wish I’d gone over more. Every time he had texted me, I wish that I had just dropped everything and gone over.”

She continued:

“The reason I write that in the book is for anybody else that may hear it, and if you’re having doubts, if you’re feeling like, ‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t overstep my bounds,’ or ‘They just texted me. Maybe I shouldn’t go over,’ do it.

You’re never going to regret having told somebody that you love them. There are going to be regrets if you didn’t. I must say by the end of his life, we were able to say that to each other. I mean, we always said it to each other, but there was something deeper to it before he passed.”

You can watch the entire interview below.