Valerie Bertinelli

Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli in 1996.Credit : Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

NEED TO KNOW

Valerie Bertinelli is talking about gaining perspective on her relationship with Eddie Van Halen
The couple were married from 1981 to 2007 and share son Wolfgang
Bertinelli, 65, is opening up about her life like never before in her new memoir, Getting Naked

Valerie Bertinelli will always have love for Eddie Van Halen.

Speaking with PEOPLE about her new book, Getting Naked, the actress, 65, talks about having a different understanding of her relationship with the Van Halen frontman, whom she was married to from 1981 to 2007.

“I met Ed when I was 20. I was too young to know better. I know that I might get in trouble for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway because maybe somebody else feels this way — I wish I knew then what I know now,” she said, adding, “I wish I had more compassion back then.”

That said, Bertinelli acknowledges, “We still probably would’ve divorced, because he wasn’t ready to get sober, and I had to protect Wolfie.”

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Throwback photo of Valerie Bertinelli with son Wolfgang and late ex-husband Eddie Van Halen

Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen with son Wolfgang.Valerie Bertinelli/Instagram

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Despite their difficulties, she continues to hold a place in her heart for Eddie, who died from throat cancer at age 65 in 2020, “I can’t help but love the man. I went through so much with him, and I’m so grateful for the last year that we had. There’ll always be a huge part of my heart that contains Ed. He gave me the greatest gift, our son.”

“Would we have ever been intimate together again? I really don’t think so. But I’ve never loved another man the way I loved Ed. And that’s just the way it is.”

Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli in 1994

Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinellie during the 1994 NBC TCA in Pasadena, Calif.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic,

Bertinelli continued, “There’s something deeper there. It doesn’t take away the love he had in his second marriage. It doesn’t take the love away that I had in my second marriage. There is just something about Ed and I that was special.”

“And even though we weren’t married any longer, I still loved him. He still loved me, and that’s okay. You can love the father of your child. Isn’t it better than hating him? So yeah, I loved him. [There will] always be a huge part in my heart for him. It doesn’t mean I don’t have room for other love, but I loved Ed and still do.”

Getting Naked by Valerie Bertinelli is out now, and available wherever books are sold.