Valerie Bertinelli is mourning the loss of her ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, with their family and fans. The Hot in Cleveland star, 60, paid tribute to Eddie on social media by reposting the heartbreaking announcement made by their son, Wolfgang Van Halen. Eddie, 65, passed away on October 6 after a lengthy battle with throat cancer, the 29-year-old Van Halen bassist revealed. She later shared her own moving Instagram post where she called Eddie “my love” and revealed she was there by his side to hold him in his last moments.
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” Wolf wrote in a statement. The musician included a beautiful photo of his father smiling. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.
Valerie and Eddie married in 1981 and enjoyed 26 years of marriage before splitting in 2007. They remained friendly after their divorce, even attending each others’ weddings. His to former stuntwoman Janie Liszewski in 2009, and hers to financial planner Tom Vitale in 2011. The sitcom star and rock god met in 1980 when Valerie’s brothers invited her to a Van Halen concert in the hopes that she could get them backstage.
“I took a look at the 8-track cassette that was in the back of my Corvette, and I saw a picture of Ed, and I went, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be going. He’s a cutie,'” she told Oprah Winfrey in 2008. Once she saw Eddie play, “you had to peel me off the floor,” she said. The guitarist asked her out a few days later, and “we never separated from then on.” Eventually, they would separate in 2001 after infidelity on her part. Their divorce was finalized in 2007.
Valerie visited Eddie often during his cancer battle. The rockstar was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2000 and had to have part of his tongue removed. The cancer recurred recently, this time in his throat. Throughout the last five years of his life, Eddie reportedly flew back and forth between the United States and Germany for radiation treatment, according to TMZ. He died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica while surrounded by loved ones: Janie, Wolf, and his brother, Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, the outlet reported.