NEWSValerie Bertinelli Hits Back at 'Soul-Breaking' Haters Who 'Berated' Her for Sharing Photo With Late Ex Eddie Van Halen: Watch
Valerie Bertinelli clapped back after she received major backlash about a photo she posted of her ex Eddie Van Halen.
Oct. 7 2026, Published 4:54 p.m. ET
Valerie Bertinelli clapped back after backlash she received for sharing a photo with her late ex, Eddie Van Halen.
"It does not take long for me to get a lot of pushback when I post a picture of me and Ed," Bertinelli, 66, said in a nearly two-minute video shared via Instagram on Tuesday, October 6. "It used to really bother me, it does not any longer."
Valerie Bertinelli addressed her critics in a two-minute video posted on Instagram.
Valerie Bertinelli Was 'Berated' After Posting Eddie Van Halen Photo
Valerie Bertinelli addressed 'haters' who criticized her for posting a photo with her ex Eddie Van Halen.
Bertinelli explained that no one explicitly told her she couldn't love her former spouse, whom she married in 1981 and divorced in 2007, but claimed she was constantly "berated" for continuing to hold him in her heart.
"They will berate you for months. Make you think you're crazy, until you finally say, 'Okay, fine. I don't love him,'" she told her followers. "They will never say, 'Take that picture down,' the one of your ex-husband, along with you and your son in better days. But they will say, 'You're obsessed,' all kinds of f----- up s--- until you take the picture down."
Valerie Bertinelli Called the Reaction to Her Post 'Soul-Breaking'
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen were married from 1981 to 2007.
"Coercive control is insidious and soul-breaking, and I cannot believe that I f----- fell for that," the actress continued.
Bertinelli said that she has "learned a lot," specifically about others trying to dictate how she should feel.
"My heart can hold a lot of love. I have a big piece right here with Ed's name all over it," she continued. "And if I ever fall in love again, I'll make room in my heart for that new person without it touching the love I have for Ed ... So you can't bother me, I love Ed, never stop loving Ed."
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Valerie Bertinelli Shared Photo on Anniversary of Eddie Van Halen's Death
Eddie Van Halen died at age 65 in 2020.
Bertinelli sparked backlash one day earlier after sharing a throwback photo with her late ex-husband on the anniversary of his death. The musician passed away in 2020 at age 65 following a battle with cancer.
"It's weird you hold on to EDDIE, as if you two were a couple in the end. It’s just weird always talking about him as if he’s your identity," one critic wrote.
A second user said, "STOP being that EX. You two separated in 2001. He moved on and remarried in 2009."
Valerie Bertinelli Couldn't 'Help But Love' Ex Eddie Van Halen
Valerie Bertinelli said Eddie Van Halen would 'always' be in her heart.
Valerie and Eddie remained close following their divorce and in the years before his death as they coparented their son, Wolfgang Van Halen.
The Touched by an Angel actress has remained open about her enduring love for her ex, revealing in a May interview that she can't "help but love" him.
"I went through so much with him, and I’m so grateful for the last year that we had. There’ll always be a huge part of my heart that contains Ed. He gave me the greatest gift, our son," she explained. "Would we have ever been intimate together again? I really don’t think so. But I’ve never loved another man the way I loved Ed. And that’s just the way it is."
