Eddie Van Halen's Wives and Kids: Everything to Know

Musician Eddie Van Halen is survived by his wife and one son: Everything to know!   

Eddie Van Halen, a keyboardist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and most prominently, a world-renowned guitarist, died of throat cancer in 2020. Best known as the founder of the eponymous rock band, Van Halen, which he formed with his brother, Alex, Eddie was deemed to be the greatest guitarist in rock‘n’roll history.  

Born on January 26, 1955, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to musician Jan van Halen, and his wife, Eugenia, Eddie set off to carve his inevitable fate in rock’n’roll after his father moved the family to Pasadena, California, in 1962. With the gradual inclusion of vocalist David Lee Roth, and bassist Michael Anthony, Eddie and his band rose to fame from being the most popular acts to one of the best-selling groups of all time.  

The Truth About Eddie Van Halen's First Marriage!    

As much as fans want their idols to keep a clean sheet, Eddie's record is anything but on par with his fans' expectations. The guitar god isn't the most sleazy lover in the rock‘n’roll history but he isn't the most stand-up either. Halen was on an extensive rock ’n’ roll tour with his band in 1980 fall when he came across actress Valerie Bertinelli, known for her roles in One Day at a Time, Touched By an Angel, and more. 

The Runnin' with the Devil hitmaker was known to be a charming philanderer when he met Valerie, not that anything was going to change after he met the actress. Eddie and Bertinelli delved into a whirlwind romance after their first meet-cute at the backstage of a Van Halen concert.  

During their dating bliss, Eddie got embroiled in a paternity suit, slapped at him by a former lover. The couple would eventually move past the early bump and to fans' shock, get hitched within eight months of knowing each other. The world-renowned guitarist and his gorgeous bride walked down the aisle on April 11, 1981.  

The loved-up pair welcomed their first and only kid, Wolfgang, in 1991. Eddie and Valerie seemed like the perfect couple at times as insiders reported "When things were good, they were really good." But it was the unbearable weight of bad times that would slowly consume the duo's marriage.  

When the actress finally filed to divorce the rockstar after 27 years of marriage in 2005, the two had reportedly been estranged for four years. A year after their divorce finalization in 2008, Bertinelli unveiled the truth in her book, Losing, in which she revealed the sad and unfortunate experience that was her marriage with the guitarist. 

Bertinelli shared how the Van Halen star was unfaithful and she was no saint either. "I just wanted somebody to touch me and love me. And I wasn't getting it at home. Now, that's not an excuse," the actress shared. Eddie's frightening health battles, which included a diagnosis of tongue cancer and a hip replacement, and yet his worsening drug addictions were another major factor in their sinking relationship.   

When their marriage unraveled, both Eddie and Valerie knew that there was no room for reconciliation. But the pair retained an unexplainable love and respect for one another until the end. When Eddie succumbed to cancer at the age of 65 in October 2020, Bertinelli revealed that his last words to her and their son were "I love you."    

Eddie and Bertinelli's only kid, Wolfgang, 32, is married to his longtime girlfriend, Allsop! 

'Maybe next time. Maybe next time we'll get it right,'" the Touched By An Angel actress recalled saying to her dying ex-husband. The duo's son, Wolfgang, 32, a musician and a former bassist of Van Halen, recently married his long-time girlfriend, Andraia Allsop, at their home in Los Angeles.  

Valerie, 63, who finalized her divorce from her second husband, financial planner Tom Vitale, in 2022, couldn't be more proud and happy for her son's new journey. "It brings me such a nice sense of peace knowing Wolfie and Andraia have each other for the rest of their lives," Bertinelli shared.  

Was Eddie Van Halen Married at the Time of His Death? 

His beloved son and ex-wife weren't the only ones Eddie left behind. The guitar god was married to his second wife, Janie Liszewski, an actress, stuntwoman, and more notably, Van Halen's publicist. "My husband, my love. My heart and soul have been shattered into a million pieces," Liszewski wrote on Instagram following her husband's death.  

Eddie and Liszewski crossed paths after the latter was hired as his band's publicist in 2006. The duo's love bloomed at the heels of Eddie's divorce from Valerie and, in 2008, the guitarist popped the question to Janie during their romantic getaway in Hawaii. The duo tied the knot in 2009 in an intimate ceremony, with Eddie's ex-wife, Valerie, and their son present amongst the host of guests.   

Unlike Eddie's first marriage with Bertinelli, which was high-profile and hence, recurringly prone to media scrutiny, his second conjugal life with Janie was as low-key as it was shielded from the world's prying stares. Although the couple revealed little to nothing about their lives behind closed doors, Bertinelli shockingly revealed that Eddie and Janie had been separated at the time of his death.  

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