The unexpected passing of Eddie Van Halen in 2020 left a gaping hole in the rock world. Despite his long-known battle with cancer, his recent appearances seemed deceptively healthy, making the loss all the more shocking. This wasn’t just the death of a music legend, it was the silencing of one of rock’s most influential bands, Van Halen, forever.
Van Halen’s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli maintained a close relationship with Eddie Van Halen even after they had divorced several years before his death. Van Halen said his parting, brief, and impactful words alongside Bertinelli and their son, Wolfgang.
According to Bertinelli’s narrative Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today, “‘I love you’ is the last words Ed says to Wolfie and me.” And before he becomes unconscious, those are the final words we say to him.
“I can’t explain the feelings Ed and I had for each other,” Bertinelli continued. If he hadn’t passed away, who knows? I don’t think so. I have a beyond-explanation love for him that transcends all sexuality. There was more to it than that. Ed and I were aware of that.
Bertinelli claimed that despite Van Halen’s 2007 divorce, their relationship remained strong because of their mutual affection for Wolfgang. “We created this lovely son because of the greatest love that exists between the two of us.”
In the memoir, Bertinelli reveals that their dissolution was ultimately brought on by Van Halen’s drug abuse and incapacity to stay sober. Bertinelli never lost her love for Van Halen despite the pressure. “I never hated him, but I detested alcohol and drugs.” I witnessed his suffering.
