Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen at Chasens Restaurant on March 20, 1983 in Beverly Hills, California
Credit: Getty Images
The Gist
Valerie Bertinelli revealed the last thing she told ex-husband Eddie Van Halen on his deathbed in her new memoir Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect.
The 65-year-old actress and the rock star separated in 2001.
Bertinelli also recalled hearing that Van Halen said “letting her go” was his “biggest mistake.”
Valerie Bertinelli is reflecting on the ups and downs of her 20-year marriage to late ex-husband Eddie Van Halen—and their complicated relationship after their breakup. In her new memoir Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect, the 65-year-old actress-turned-Food Network star revealed that she and Van Halen found their way to a “place of deep love and forgiveness” towards the end of the rock star’s life in 2020.
Bertinelli and Van Halen—who separated in 2001 and finalized their divorce in 2007—were “madly in love starting out,” the One Day at a Time actress revealed in her memoir, which was published on March 10. After getting married in the guitarist in 1983 and welcoming son Wolfgang Van Halen, now 34, the couple called it quits—but Bertinelli still had fond memories of her ex before he passed away in 2020
Eddie Van Halen & Valerie Bertinelli during “America’s Sweethearts” Los Angeles Premiere at Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California in 2001
Credit: Getty Images
“At the last Thanksgiving we shared, he took me outside and opened his heart in a way he said was way past due,” she wrote in her memoir. “We both did. We found a place of deep love and forgiveness for our past mistakes.”
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen during APLA 6th Commitment to Life Concert Benefit at Universal Amphitheater in Universal City, California
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Bertinelli wrote that she noticed a change in the “Jump” guitarist towards the end of his life as he attempted “making amends” with people from his past— including her. “He was cold-calling them. It was sweet— and that was Ed at the core, sweet,” she recounted.. “He wanted to make it right with me, too. I was told that every time I would walk out of a room, he would look around and say, ‘The biggest mistake of my life was letting her go.’ In our own way, we never did let go.”
Despite their tumultuous marriage, the Hot in Cleveland actress praised her ex-husband in her memoir, writing, “He wanted to be the right person, the good person that he already was. His heart was always pure. He was such a good man.” Bertinelli also revealed she and Van Halen were close up until his death at 65 in October 2020 following a battle with throat cancer, and she had a sweet goodbye message for the star. “My final words to him when he was taking his last breaths in the hospital were ‘I love you,’” she wrote.
Valerie Bertinelli with husband Eddie Van Halen at the 1994 NBC TCA (Television Critics Association) in Pasadena, California
Credit: Getty Images
Bertinelli previously opened up about about her relationship with Van Halen during an October 2025 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. “We grew, we didn’t work… but I don’t feel like it was a failure because there were many years there that were so happy. And I have Wolfie,” she said at the time. “I just can’t think of it as a failure, because I still have deep love for the man even though he’s not here.
Read the original article on InStyle