Valerie Bertinelli and Wolfgang Van Halen paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen on what would have been his 68th birthday Thursday.
Bertinelli, 62, posted an emoji of a white heart alongside a shot of her with the late rock legend and her former husband, who she was wed to from 1981-2007.
The actress also posted another shot with their musician son, 31, and the legendary guitar player, who died at 65 in October of 2020 following a stroke and longtime cancer battle.
The latest: Valerie Bertinelli, 62, and Wolfgang Van Halen, 31, paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen on what would have been his 68th birthday Thursday
Wolfgang shared a shot as he posed alongside his late father while holding a guitar.
He captioned the shot, ‘Happy 68th Birthday Pop. Wish I could give you a big hug and tell it to you in person. I love and miss you more than you could ever know.’
Bertinelli, best known for her work on One Day at a Time, Touched by an Angel and Hot in Cleveland, last year revealed in her memoir Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today that Eddie’s last words to her were ‘I love you.’
Bertinelli and Van Halen were married for 26 years and stayed closed after their 2007 divorce, Bertinelli wrote, as she was by his side when he was dying.
Bonding: Wolfgang shared a shot as he posed alongside his late father while holding a guitar
Quality time: Bertinelli was seen with the late rock legend and her former husband, who she was wed to from 1981-2007
Legacy: The late artist on tracks such as Jump, Hot for Teacher and Beat It was pictured playing in Chula Vista, California in September of 2015
In an excerpt of the memoir, Bertinelli revealed the touching last words they exchanged prior to his death at age 65, as well as the gift her ‘soulmate’ gave her during his battle with cancer.
Bertinelli and the ex-couple’s son Wolfgang were among the loved ones spending time with Eddie during his final weeks of life in the hospital. Also there was Van Halen’s second wife, Janie Liszewski, and his brother, Alex Van Halen.
The rocker had been suffering from pneumonia, the bone marrow disorder myelodysplastic syndrome, and lung cancer, but ultimately died of a stroke.
Bertinelli revealed the poignant last words her ex-husband said to her and their son.
‘”I love you” are the last words Ed says to Wolfie and me,” Valerie recalled, ‘and they are the last words we say to him before he stops breathing.’
Bertinelli, whose connection with Eddie grew stronger as his cancer spread and he approached the prospect of death, also recalled the touching gift he gave her a year before his death.
Strong bond: Valerie Bertinelli and her ex-husband Eddie Van Halen still cared deeply for one another even after their split; pictured 2001
‘I just love you’: Valerie, whose connection with Eddie grew stronger as his cancer spread and he faced the prospect of death, also recalled the touching gift he gave her a year before his death
Eddie had purchased Valerie a gold bar the size of a pendant while undergoing cancer treatment in Germany.
The rocker requested to speak with her privately on Thanksgiving Day in 2019 and gave her the touching gift after they went to a friend’s car to talk.
‘I hope you don’t think it’s weird, you know, that I bought my ex-wife this gift and didn’t get my wife anything,’ Eddie said with tears in his eyes. ‘I just love you.’
‘He wants me to know he messed up [during our marriage],’ Valerie wrote. ‘I contributed to our troubles too and I am also sorry.’
Remorse: Valerie also expressed regret over holding herself back from deepening their friendship during his battle with cancer
Valerie also expressed regret over holding herself back from deepening their friendship during his battle with cancer.
Though they were both remarried, Valerie says both of their marriages were facing issues.
‘There is no chance we are going to get back together,’ she said, ‘but I do know if one of us were to open up, the other one would too, and I don’t want to get into that.’
Valerie struggled to describe their relationship but said there was ‘no greater love’ than the one they had for one another.
‘We made this beautiful son’: Valerie struggled to describe their relationship but said there was ‘no greater love’ than the one they had for one another
‘I can’t explain the feelings Ed and I had for each other,’ she wrote. ‘Who really knows had he not died. I doubt it. I loved him more than I know how to explain and there’s nothing sexual about it. It was more than that. And Ed and I understood that.’
‘There is no greater love than what we had between the two of us and with that, we made this beautiful son.’
Valerie ultimately filed for legal separation from her second husband Tom Vitale in November 2021, but said her ‘love’ for Eddie played no role in their split.
‘We grew apart,’ the Hot In Cleveland actress said. ‘The decision has nothing to do with my love for Ed. I wish Tom the best and I know he feels the same way about me.’