“Nothing that would scream soulmate”— Valerie Bertinelli says of her relationship with late husband Eddie Van Halen

Actress Valerie Bertinelli has offered a candid look back at her relationship with ex-husband Eddie Van Halen. Bertinelli's comments come after watching her son Wolfgang Van Halen's recent episode of Behind the Music, which explored his father's life and career. The episode prompted Bertinelli to share her reflections on social media. Speaking about the relationship, she said,

"Nothing that makes you feel loved and wanted and cared for. Nothing that would scream soulmate, that's for sure."

In an Instagram video, Valerie Bertinelli described the experience of watching the documentary as "not easy." She elaborated on the emotional weight of the program, citing her son's expressed pain, reflections on her own parenting, and a reevaluation of her past with Eddie Van Halen. She said,

"I was finally able to watch Wolfie's Behind the Music. It was not easy. I'd stopped it many times because it was just too brutal to watch for many reasons. One, seeing Wolfie's pain. Two, seeing what a better job I could have done as a parent even though he turned out magnificently. I made a lot of mistakes."

---

Valerie Bertinelli reflects on marriage to Eddie Van Halen

Reflecting on the time she spent with her late ex-husband Eddie Van Halen in the Instagram video, Valerie Bertinelli said that after his death, she recreated their relationship “into some sort of fantasy.”

Adding to the list of reasons that made watching the episode on her son and late ex difficult, the Food Network host said,

"And three, seeing what I had turned of Ed's and my relationship — into some sort of fantasy, soulmate recreation of history."

Valerie Bertinelli's comments about their romance further emphasize this reevaluation. While acknowledging their marriage, she said that the same “rapidly declined” due to Van Halen's drug and alcohol use, as well as infidelity.

She continued, visibly emotional in the video,

“But after Ed died, I was more than willing to put myself in the grieving widow category for a man that I hadn’t lived with for 20 years. What we had together was this beautiful son that we both unconditionally loved.”

Ending the video, Bertinelli said,

“That's what I got out of that marriage was Wolfie, the best thing that ever happened to me. Not a soulmate.”

---

Wolfgang Van Halen opens up on life in "Behind the Music"

Wolfgang Van Halen, son of late rock legend Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli, recently participated in an episode of Behind the Music. The documentary explored his life and career, with a particular focus on the influence of his parents' relationship.

In a social media post, Wolfgang acknowledged the emotional weight of the experience.

"It was difficult, but also incredibly cathartic."

The documentary shone a light on Wolfgang's unique upbringing. His parents, Valerie Bertinelli, then 21, and Eddie Van Halen, then 26, married in 1981. Their union lasted over two decades before their separation in 2001 and eventual divorce in 2007. Wolfgang was born during their marriage.

Despite their divorce, both Wolfgang and Bertinelli were by Eddie Van Halen's side when he passed away from cancer in 2022 at the age of 65.

---

Behind the Music, which aired on the VH1 Channel before being moved to Paramount+, is a documentary program. Each show boasts interviews and clips of popular musicians. It shows their experience of the journey from a complete unknown to stardom, their problems, achievements, and everything in between.