Ailing Eddie Van Halen getting visits from ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli

Ailing Eddie Van Halen getting visits from ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli

With Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth having proclaimed that the band “is finished” and that guitarist Eddie Van Halen has his “own story to tell”, rumours about the latter’s poor health continue to swirl.

The following are excerpts from a recent Montreal Gazette‘s article:

“Sources tell gossip writer A.J. Benza that Van Halen has gotten some visits from his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli, who split with the 64-year old rocker in 2002 after 21 years of marriage.

Sources say she jumped at the chance to see if there was something she could do to make his days any easier. “She’s just that type of warm, loving and compassionate person,” the source said about Bertinelli, who wed financial planner Tom Vitale in 2011.”

Wikipedia states the following about Eddie Van Halen‘s personal life (with slight edits):

“On August 29, 1980, Eddie met actress Valerie Bertinelli at a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. They married in California on April 11, 1981 and have one son, Wolfgang.

Suffering from lingering injuries from past high-risk acrobatic stage antics and crashes, Van Halen underwent hip replacement surgery in November 1999, after his chronic avascular necrosis, with which he was diagnosed in 1995, became unbearable. Van Halen began receiving treatment for tongue cancer in 2000. The subsequent surgery removed roughly a third of his tongue. He was declared cancer-free in 2002.

In December 2004, Van Halen attended “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott‘s funeral, and donated the black and yellow guitar featured on the Van Halen II album inlay, stating that it was always a favorite of Dimebag‘s. The guitar was put in Darrell‘s Kiss Kasket and he was buried with it.

On December 5, 2005, Van Halen‘s wife, Valerie Bertinelli, filed for divorce in Los Angeles after four years of separation. The divorce was finalized in December 2007.

Van Halen has struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse. He has stated that he began smoking and drinking at age 12, and that he eventually needed alcohol to function. Van Halen entered rehabilitation in 2007. In a 2015 interview, Van Halen stated that he had been sober since 2008.

On October 6, 2008, Van Halen proposed to his girlfriend, Janie Liszewski, an actress and stunt-woman who became Van Halen‘s publicist in 2007. The two married on June 27, 2009, at his Studio City estate, with his son Wolfgang and Bertinelli in attendance. Eddie‘s brother Alex officiated the ceremony, while his son served as best man.

In August 2012, Van Halen underwent an emergency surgery for a severe bout of diverticulitis.”