Valerie Bertinelli Fires Back at ‘Haters’ After Tribute to Ex Eddie Van Halen

Valerie Bertinelli fired back at “haters” after posting a tribute to her ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, on the anniversary of his death.

On Tuesday, October 6, the One Day at a Time and Hot in Cleveland actress, 66, took to Instagram with a video message for followers.

“Strap in haters, let’s go for a little ride,” she captioned the update, alongside emojis of a hand flashing a peace sign, a white heart, and red lips.

In the video, she shook her head and pointed out, “It does not take long for me to get a lot of pushback when I post a picture of me and Ed. It used to really bother me. It does not. Not any longer because I learned a lot.”

Van Halen died at 65 in 2020, following a stroke and battles with lung cancer and throat cancer. He and Bertinelli were married from 1981 to 2007; during that time they welcomed a son, Wolfgang Van Halen, 35.

“So they’ll never quite say the words, ‘You’re not allowed to love your ex-husband. That’s ridiculous. You can’t love him,'” she explained. “No, they never quite say that. But they will berate you and berate you for months. Make you think you’re crazy until you finally say, ‘OK, fine. I don’t love him.'”

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A post shared by Valerie Bertinelli (@wolfiesmom)

Bertinelli continued, “They will never say the words, ‘You cannot go to your son’s concert.’ But when you do, they will make that night miserable. They will never say, ‘Take that picture down — the one of your ex-husband, along with you and your son in better days.’… They’ll say, ‘You’re obsessed,’ and all kinds of f***ed up s*** until you take the picture down.”

Additionally, she declared that “coercive control is insidious and it’s soul-breaking,” adding, “And I cannot believe that I f***ing fell for it.”

Bertinelli also pointed out that “nobody can tell you how you feel” and her “heart can hold a lot of love.”

To conclude her message, the former Kids Baking Championship judge shared, “So you can’t bother me. I love Ed. I never stopped loving Ed. And my heart loves a lot. Don’t you wish yours could too?”

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A post shared by Valerie Bertinelli (@wolfiesmom)

Earlier that day, Bertinelli posted a short but impactful Instagram tribute to Eddie with a photo of them in a car. She wrote, “Photos may fade, like old photos do, but not the memories and never the love.”