Valerie Bertinelli has responded to what she describes as "pushback" from online critics after she posted an emotional tribute to her late ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, on the sixth anniversary of his death.
Bertinelli, 66, shared a throwback photo of the couple on Instagram with the caption, "Photos may fade, like old photos do, but not the memories and never the love." In a follow-up video, she addressed her followers directly, explaining that she often receives negative comments when she posts about the Van Halen guitarist, to whom she was married from 1981 to 2007.
"It used to really bother me," Bertinelli said in the video. "It does not, not anymore. Not any longer, because I learned a lot." She stated that while critics don't explicitly forbid her from loving her ex-husband, they often engage in prolonged criticism that can be emotionally taxing. "They will never say, 'Take that picture down,' but they say that you're obsessed, say all kinds of f—ed up s–t until you take the picture down," she added.
The actress insisted that the late musician still holds "a big piece" of her heart. She explained that if she were to fall in love again, she would make room for that new person without diminishing the love she has for Eddie, their son Wolfgang, her daughter-in-law, and others. "Your heart opens up. Because your heart can hold a lot of love. All of our hearts can," she stated.
Bertinelli captioned the video, "Strap in haters, let's go for a little ride." She also shared a photo of Eddie and their son, Wolfgang, writing, "Love and miss you more than you could ever know, Pop."
Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020 at the age of 65, following a battle with throat cancer. Bertinelli and Van Halen met in 1980 and married the following year. They divorced in 2007.
Wolfgang Van Halen, 35, also paid tribute to his father on Instagram, posting a picture of Eddie holding him as a baby and writing, "6 years. It doesn’t get any easier."
Bertinelli later married Tom Vitale in 2011, but the couple split after ten years of marriage. Eddie Van Halen married Janie Liszewski in 2009.