VALERIE BERTINELLI On Suggesting That She And EDDIE VAN HALEN "Might Have Had A Second Wind" - "It Was A Wistful Fantasy That I Knew Would Never Be True"

23:38 Wednesday, 3 April 2024

Late guitar hero Eddie Van Halen's ex-wife, Valerie Bertinelli, married the Van Halen legend in 1981. The couple separated in 2001, and were divorced on December 20, 2007.

In one of the intimate essays in her new cookbook, Indulge, Bertinelli writes that "though we got divorced, Ed and I never stopped loving each other. Who knows, if not for cancer, we might have had a second wind," but "I'm pretty sure that is wistful thinking."

She clarifies to USA Today that "wistful is a very different word than wishful. It was a wistful fantasy that I knew would never be true.

"The love that Ed and I shared − and we did come to a very wonderful place at the end of his life − was our unconditional love for our son. My son was losing his father, I was in a relationship that was terribly wrong for me, and I was holding onto some sort of lifeline because of the years I had with Ed. I was madly in love with him when I met him, but our love changed. He felt like a big brother to me that I just wanted the best for by the time he got very sick. All I wanted to do was make it OK for Ed, make it OK for Wolfie.

"You fantasize and romanticize what you know really never could be."