Wolfgang Van Halen, 32, honored his late father, Eddie Van Halen, on the famous rocker’s birthday. Wolfgang took to Instagram on January 26 — the day Eddie would’ve turned 69 years old — and shared a moving tribute to his dad, with a throwback picture of the duo and a heartfelt message written out in the caption.
“I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug, go to dinner, celebrate it with you and make a dumb joke about it being your 69th birthday,” Wolfgang wrote. “Just regular shit. I miss hearing you laugh. I miss laughing with you. It’s the little things.”
“I’ll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today,” Eddie’s only child continued. “But then again, that’s not very different than any other day so far without you. I love and miss you more than you could ever possibly know.”
Wolfgang concluded his message by writing, “Happy Birthday, Pop ❤️.” The photo of them was seemingly taken after Wolfgang started touring with his dad in 2007. They both wore black shirts and Eddie had his guitar with him as they smiled at the camera.
Eddie died of throat cancer at the age of 65 in 2020. He shared his son with actress and Food Network star Valerie Bertinelli. The former couple got married in 1981 but divorced in 2007. While Valerie, 63, got remarried four years after her divorce from Eddie, she still stayed close with the Van Halen guitarist until his death.
In October, Wolfgang got married to Andraia Allsop at their L.A. home and Valerie walked her son down the aisle to a song Eddie wrote for him. According to PEOPLE, Eddie said that the song was “an instrumental piece called 316,” and called it “a nice way to include my dad.” He also revealed before the wedding that there would be an empty chair at the ceremony as a way to honor Eddie.
Since Eddie’s passing, Wolfgang has paid tribute to his dad on a number of occasions, including an emotional post on Instagram on the rocker’s birthday in January 2021. “I wish I could give you the biggest hug and celebrate it with you. I love and miss you so much it hurts,” he wrote at the time. “Not a second has gone by where you haven’t been on my mind, and today will be no different. Love and miss you beyond words, Pop.”