Valerie Bertinelli, 65, finally reveals her last words to ex Eddie Van Halen while he was on his death bed six years ago

Valerie Bertinelli got candid about her 20-year marriage to the late Eddie Van Halen in her new memoir, Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect.

The 65-year-old actress was married to Van Halen from 1981 until their separation in 2001. Their divorce was finalized in 2007.

Van Halen died in October 2020 at age 65 following a stroke and throat cancer battle. 

'He wanted to be the right person, the good person that he already was,' she penned about her ex-husband in the book, published on Tuesday. 'His heart was always pure. He was such a good man.'

According to an Us Weekly account, Bertinelli recalled that they were 'madly in love starting out.'

'My final words to him when he was taking his last breaths in the hospital were "I love you,"' she wrote.

The exes shared son Wolfgang Van Halen, 34. 

Elsewhere in her new release, Bertinelli divulged, 'At the last Thanksgiving we shared, he took me outside and opened his heart in a way he said was way past due.

'We both did. We found a place of deep love and forgiveness for our past mistakes.'

She previously shed light on their relationship in May 2024, after Wolfgang's Behind The Music episode debuted on Paramount+.

In a social media video she told fans, 'I was finally able to watch Wolfie's Behind the Music. It was not easy.'

'I'd stopped it many times because it was just too brutal to watch for many reasons. One, seeing Wolfie's pain,' she added.

'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,' she admitted.

The Hot in Cleveland star was 20 when she married the 27-year-old Van Halen guitarist.

She said their marriage devolved into 'nothing that makes you feel loved and wanted and cared for. Nothing that would scream soulmate, that's for sure.'

When Van Halen died, the media personality admitted her perspective changed – '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,' she said while tearing up.

'What we had together was this beautiful son that we both unconditionally loved.'

She announced her book in early October. 

'This is my heart broken wide open. It’s a collection of intimate and vulnerable essays, exploring aging, love, friendship, secrets, and acceptance,' Bertinelli captioned a post as she shared the black and white cover image for the first time.

'I am super excited and delighted (and maybe a tinge nervous) to show you all the cover of my new book, GETTING NAKED,' she prefaced.

She went on to share, 'I didn’t even realize how much I needed to write this book until I started. It helped heal something in me that l’m not sure I would’ve been able to do without writing it.

'My hope and deep wish is that it will inspire you to resist the negative thoughts in your own head, put yourself first, and let go of any judgement you may feel about yourself or what others may try their damnedest to make you feel.'