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Valerie Bertinelli Shared Never-Before-Seen Photos From the Night She Met Eddie Van Halen

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram
  • Valerie Bertinelli just shared a series of throwback photos with Eddie Van Halen to her Instagram Stories after the legendary guitarist died of cancer this week.

Valerie Bertinelli honored her late ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, following the news of his death last week. She was married to the legendary guitarist, who lost his battle with cancer, for decades and they shared a son, Wolfgang.

“Through all your challenging treatments for lung cancer, you kept your gorgeous spirit and that impish grin,” she wrote on Instagram. “I will see you in our next life my love.”

Related video: The life of Eddie Van Halen

While the couple divorced in 2007, they maintained a strong relationship, and Valerie offered fans a glimpse of the special memories they shared. The Food Network star recently posted a series of throwback photos on her Instagram stories, including one from the night she met Eddie 40 years ago when her “life changed forever.”

In the first pic, Valerie shared a snapshot of her giving Eddie a hug on that night. The former couple linked up for the first time in 1980 after Valerie’s brothers convinced her to come to one of Eddie’s concerts so that they could have a chance at getting backstage.

“I took a look at the 8-track cassette that was in the back of my Corvette, and I saw a picture of Ed, and I went, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be going. He’s a cutie,’” she told Oprah Winfrey in 2008.

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

At the concert, Eddie and Valerie immediately hit it off, and Eddie gave her a call after his concert and asked to meet up. “So I went out and visited, and we never separated from then on,” Valerie told Oprah.

She shared another photo of the two of them with their arms around each other on the first day they met. Eddie is smiling with a bag of M&Ms, and Valerie captioned the photo, “Shreveport, L.A., August 28, 1980.”

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

The two continued to date throughout 1980, and a few months later around the holidays, Valerie and Eddie celebrated the most wonderful time of year together. She shared a picture of her and Eddie next to a Christmas tree, captioning the pic “Christmas 1980.”

Eddie is smiling at the camera, wearing white pants with a miniature guitar embellishment. Valerie has her arms wrapped around her then-boyfriend.

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

In the next image, the couple was sitting on a coach at the Los Angeles Forum in 1981, likely before or after one of Eddie’s concerts. (Look at Valerie’s smile! They look so happy.)

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

In 1981, Valerie and Eddie officially tied the knot. They welcomed their son Wolfgang ten years later. On Thursday, Valerie shared a sweet photo of her, Eddie, and Wolfgang riding a carousel in Central Park, New York, in 1993.

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

Although the couple eventually divorced following problems with drugs and infidelity, Eddie and Valerie remained close. Valerie, who is now married to Tom Vitale, was even with Eddie until the end. “I’m so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in your last moments,” she wrote.

Despite their hardships, it’s clear these two had a special bond. Rest in peace, Eddie.

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