Valerie Bertinelli loves nothing more than supporting her only son, Wolfgang Van Halen. The young man is the bassist of his late father Eddie Van Halen’s band, Van Halen. Although that profession may scare a lot of parents, Valerie knows she has nothing to worry about because she trusts her kid completely.
“Wolfie has made some really, really good choices in his life so I’m not too worried about him,” the Food Network star explained to Meredith Vieira in 2014. “And his dad is a really great influence on him. He’s an amazing father so I’m not worried about him at all, and I really like the people who he hangs out with.”
Prior to joining Van Halen, Wolfgang used to rock out with his heavy metal band Tremonti. During that time, Valerie wasn’t too concerned about his whereabouts because he was still around some really great people.
“The guys who he was working with were so cool, so laid back,” the former One Day at a Time star said. “I didn’t see any drugs or alcohol. They all went to get smoothies. Of course, because maybe I was there, but I know he’s made good choices.”
She added, “He’s still friends with these guys from kindergarten [too], so I trust him. I have to.”
Valerie also harbored no resentment following her split from ex-husband Eddie, whom she was married to from 1981 to 2007. “They have both forgiven each other and love their son,” a friend previously told Closer Weekly about the former couple. “There are no more bad feelings between them.”
Sadly, Eddie died at age 65 in October 2020 after a long battle with throat cancer. “He was the best father I could ever ask for,” Wolfgang wrote on Twitter at the time. “Every moment I’ve shared with him, on and off stage, was a gift. I love you so much, Pop.” Valerie responded to his heartfelt tribute with a bunch of heartbroken emojis.
Since Eddie’s death, Valerie has been a constant support system for her son. Because the In a Child’s Name actress considers motherhood to be her greatest achievement, she will always make Wolfgang her No. 1 priority.
“Of all the roles I have taken, none has been more satisfying than motherhood,” she gushed in her book Losing It. “I shunned the spotlight in favor of a normal life, driving carpools, volunteering in my son’s classroom [and] making dinner.”
In July 2022, Wolfgang announced his engagement to his longtime love, Andraia Allsop, on Instagram. “She said yes!!” he captioned a sweet selfie with his partner. In the comments section of the post, Valerie showed love for her only child and her future daughter-in-law.
“How do I [heart] this a million times? So happy!” she wrote.
Wolfgang began dating the software engineer back in 2015. She has stuck by his side through some of his biggest milestones. The “Distance” singer brought both his beloved and his mom as his dates to the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Though he did not end up picking up a trophy for his debut single that night, he shared a heartfelt message about how much the event meant to him.
“We came, we saw, but we did NOT conquer and that’s OK! I got to have a wonderful night with the two most important women in my world,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “Such an honor to be nominated for the first song I ever released on my own, in a category with artists I’ve looked up to my entire life. I don’t know if that’ll ever fully set in.”
Scroll below to learn more about Valerie and Eddie’s son, Wolfgang!
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