A bond unlike any other. In the weeks since losing her ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, to cancer, Valerie Bertinelli has been grieving deeply and looking back on their 26-year marriage.
“Valerie and Eddie had some rough times, but their love for each other never wavered,” a source says exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly. “She’s truly heartbroken.”
The One Day at a Time alum, 60, met the rock star backstage at a concert in 1980. They wed months later in April 1981.
“They were so in love,” a second insider says. “Valerie hated the groupies that would follow his band, but Eddie mesmerized people and she was no exception.”
After the couple welcomed son Wolfgang in March 1991, Bertinelli threw herself into motherhood, while Van Halen continued to have fun on the road. They separated in 2001 and finalized their divorce in December 2007.
“They were better friends apart,” the second insider tells Us. “Valerie championed Eddie for kicking drugs and booze for good and stayed close throughout his battle with tongue cancer.”
The actress and the Grammy winner both remarried, her to financial planner Tom Vitale in January 2011 and him to Janie Liszewski in June 2009. Bertinelli was among the loved ones by Van Halen’s side when he died at age 65 on October 6.
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