Posted in: Paramount+, streaming, TV | Tagged: Behind the Music, Eddie Van Halen, Valerie Bertinelli, Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen

Behind the Music: Van Halen Episode Was "Brutal to Watch": Bertinelli

Valerie Bertinelli shared her thoughts on Wolfgang Van Halen appearing on Behind the Music, Eddie Van Halen not being her "soulmate" & more.

Actress Valerie Bertinelli had a lot of time to reflect on the life she built with legendary late guitarist Eddie Van Halen and hearing their son Wolfgang Van Halen talk about his father in a recent episode on the docuseries Behind the Music on Paramount+, which reopened some wounds as she found it difficult at parts to watch. Originating on VH-1 in 1997, the docuseries' original run lasted until 2014 before it was revived on Paramount+ in 2021. "It was not easy. I'd stopped it many times because it was just too brutal to watch for many reasons," Bertinelli said in a video posted from her Instagram. "One, seeing Wolfie's pain. Two, seeing what a better job I could have done as a parent. Even though he turned out magnificently, I made a lot of mistakes, and three, seeing that I had turned Ed's and my relationship into some sort of fantasy, soulmate recreation of history."

Valerie Bertinelli Comments on Wolfgang Van Halen's Episode of 'Behind the Music'

The actress married Eddie Van Halen in 1981 as their respective careers were starting to hit their stride, with their only child Wolfgang born in 1991. While the two divorced in 2007, both supported Wolfgang in his ventures including him replacing original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony in 2006. Wolfgang's entry into the band came when the band parted ways a second and final time with second lead singer Sammy Hagar as Eddie brought back original frontman David Lee Roth. Wolfgang would play alongside the three original members of Van Halen with his uncle Alex Van Halen on drums as the band toured and released "A Different Kind of Truth" in 2012, their final studio album with Eddie's passing in 2020.

As Roth launched his farewell tour, working with Alex, Wolfgang moved on to his solo project Mammoth WVH where he plays all instruments and vocals. Since Van Halen's breakup, Roth's entered a bit of a war of words with Wolfgang. Even Hagar, who toured with Roth sans Van Halen, chimed in on the controversy.

"After Ed died, I was more than willing to put myself in the 'grieving widow' category for a man that I hadn't lived with for 20 years," Bertinelli said upon looking back on her marriage with Eddie. "What we had together was this beautiful son that we both unconditionally loved. That's what I got out of that marriage: Wolfie, the best thing that ever happened to me. Not a soulmate." For more, you can check out the video.

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