Valerie Bertinelli Reveals Eddie Van Halen’s Final Moments: “Wolfie And I Were Able To Hold You”

Valerie Bertinelli, who met and married guitarist Eddie Van Halen when she was still starring in the sitcom One Day at a Time, says she and the ex-couple’s son Wolfgang were among those with the rock great when he died Tuesday.

Also reportedly at Van Halen’s side were his wife Janie and brother and bandmate Alex.

The actress and the rock star married in 1981, separated in 2001 and divorced six years later but remained close. Van Halen reportedly attended Bertinelli’s 2011 wedding to financial planner Tom Vitale. In response to Wolf Van Halen’s announcement Tuesday about the passing of his father, Bertinelli tweeted a stream of broken heart emoji.

But last night Bertinelli posted a full statement on Instagram, along with a photo of the the Van Halens when Wolf was a baby (see it below.)

In the post, Bertinelli, who starred in TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland from 2010-15, wrote:

40 years ago my life changed forever when I met you. You gave me the one true light in my life, our son, Wolfgang.
Through all your challenging treatments for lung cancer, you kept your gorgeous spirit and that impish grin.
I’m so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in your last moments.
I will see you in our next life my love.

Bertinelli has previously written that the couple’s marital problems stemmed, in large part, from Van Halen’s cocaine addiction at the time (the guitarist announced his sobriety in 2008) and a smoking habit that continued even after his first tongue cancer diagnosis in 2000.

Bertinelli’s tribute to Van Halen was one of many that hit social media Tuesday following Van Halen’s death from cancer at 65. To read more, go here.

More from Deadline

• Eddie Van Halen Remembered: Valerie Bertinelli, Jimmy Kimmel, Sammy Hagar & David Lee Roth Praise And Mourn 'The Mozart Of Rock Guitar'

• Eddie Van Halen Dies: Guitar Legend Who Influenced Hard-Rock Generations Was 65

• Norman Lear, Mackenzie Phillips & Valerie Bertinelli Set For 'One Day At A Time' Live Benefit Reunion

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