Valerie Bertinelli emotionally prepares to read Alex Van Halen’s memoir.
Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show on Thursday, Nov. 7, Bertinelli, 64, revealed she has yet to read brotherswhich is a love letter to Alexa’s late brother and the actress’ ex-husband of 25 years, Van Halen rocker Eddie Van Halen.
“I’m so excited to read it,” the actress said as host Barrymore, 49, held a copy of the book. “Now it’s sitting in my house, I look at it and I shudder just thinking about it because I know them very well.”
Barrymore’s co-host Ross Matthews then asked Bertinelli, who joined Season 5 The Drew Barrymore Show as a lifestyle expert earlier this year, “I think Drew and I have the same question, can we ask why you didn’t read it?”
“It’s going to be emotional,” Bertinelli replied. “It will be very emotional, because I love these two men. They are good people and they are very complicated people. Congratulations Al, it’s going to be a bestseller.”
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The former Food Network star further praised the drummer’s memoir, calling it “beautiful” and saying of Alex, 71, “He did an amazing job.”
“When I talked to Al last year when he told me he was writing a book, I was really excited for him and we had a long talk about grief and what you go through,” Bertinelli continued. “He’s a very, very private man, so what he’s doing is quite unusual for him. And for doing it so beautifully, I’m so proud of you, Al.”
“I’m so happy you wrote your story and I really believe people get a different insight into Ed the man, not an icon or whatever you think you know about him, he wasn’t that. He was a gentle, gentle soul who went through extreme trauma, and Al did too,” she added.
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Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen.
Collection of Jim Smeal/Ron Galella via Getty
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Eddie died in hospital aged 65 in October 2020 from throat cancer. Bertinelli held the musician by one hand, while their son Wolfgang Van Halen (33) held the other.
In a PEOPLE cover story published in April of this year, Bertinelli recalled Eddie’s final moments and revealed how the group in his hospital room, which included Alex and his two sons, ordered pizza shortly after his death.
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Alex Van Halen’s ‘Brothers’ hardcover, released October 2024.
“I didn’t want to believe it was happening. Even as it was happening, I didn’t believe it was happening,” Bertinelli, who divorced Eddie in 2007, told PEOPLE of his death.
“I forget who suggested it, but we were like, ‘Should we get pizza?’ … Because he couldn’t eat, and the last thing Ed really wanted was pizza,” she recalled. “He loved pizza and burritos, so we ate pizza in his hospital room. I hope people don’t think it’s morbid.”
“He knew how much I loved him,” she added. “I knew how much he loved me. The last words he said to me and Wolfie were, ‘I love you.’ Ed gave his heart. He wore it on his sleeve.”
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Source: HIS Education