Valerie Bertinelli’s most famous relationship was arguably her decades-long marriage to Eddie Van Halen. The couple married in 1981 and went on to welcome a son, Wolfgang, a decade later. However, Valerie and Eddie separated in 2001 following two decades of marriage, before finalizing their divorce in 2007.After their split, Eddie and Valerie found love with other people. The rockstar married his publicist Janie Liszewski in 2009, while Valerie wed financial planner Tom Vitale a year later.Nevertheless, Valerie didn’t refrain from speaking about her previous marriage to Eddie. In her autobiography, she admitted Eddie’s cocaine addiction as well as his refusal to stop smoking following an oral cancer diagnosis fuelled their break-up. They may have divorced, but Valerie always maintained Eddie was the love of her life, even after she married Tom.Now that Tom and Valerie recently divorce, there’s been speculation that her feelings for her ex-husband may have played a part. Here’s what we know about their break-up.
Why Did Valerie Bertinelli And Tom Vitale Divorce
In May 2022, it was revealed Valerie had filed for divorce from Tom following a decade of marriage. Court documents revealed that the Food Network star cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split. It appears the couple had been broken up for a while at that point. Valerie stated they separated in December 2019 and filed for legal separation the following November.
Tom Vitale Wanted Their Prenup Voided And Spousal Support
Unfortunately, Tom and Valerie’s divorce was less than amicable. Despite having a prenup in place, Tom pushed to get spousal support.
In July, Radar Online reviewed court documents that revealed Tom was requesting $50,000 a month from Valerie. He also wanted an additional $200,000 to cover his legal fees; he planned to put $50,000 towards a forensic accountant to determine the full extent of her wealth and assets.
In his filing, Tom claimed he was having trouble finding work following their split. Though he’s educated as a financial planner, he said his license expired during their marriage. He didn’t renew it because he was focused on building up his wife’s businesses, saying he didn’t have the bandwidth for a full-time job.
Tom further claimed he was having trouble finding a job, since he hadn’t worked in so long. He said he took a temporary job at Postal Annex in Malibu for $16 an hour.
“ Tom's age and decades out of the field , make it unlikely that he will be a desirable candidate for a job in the investment industry,” his attorney argued.
Valerie was apparently giving him $8,000 per month while they were estranged, but she cut him off after filing for divorce. She requested that the court rule on the validity of their prenup, which stated neither party was entitled to spousal support in the event of a break-up.
By September, Tom and Valerie reached a settlement and finalized their divorce, but she did end up having to pay a $2.2 million settlement to her ex-husband. However, this was a one-time payment. The court denied Tom’s request for ongoing spousal support.
Valerie later celebrated her divorce on social media, expressing happiness that their separation was official. "My lawyer just called. The papers are all signed. They're about to be filed," she wrote on Twitter, describing herself as “happily divorce.” Valerie added, “11.22.22. second best day of my life.”
Valerie Called Eddie Her ‘Soulmate’ After Marrying Tom
Tom’s motivation to get a big payment from his ex-wife (despite having a prenup) suggests their split wasn’t amicable, and it may have something to do with the fact that Valerie never fully got over her first husband.
After Eddie’s death from lung cancer in October 2020, Valerie opened up about their relationship in her memoir Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today. Despite being married to Tom at the time, she referred to Eddie as her “soulmate.”
" I think we meet up with souls that we're meant to work through things together," the actress said. "I just don't feel like I've ever been loved like that, in that way, from anybody else. I just feel a connection with Ed that I've never really felt with anyone else."
After the memoir released, fans were quick to point out that Valerie barely discussed her marriage to Tom. She has defended her decision to keep her second marriage more private.
"I tried to be really sensitive to Tom and (Van Halen's wife until his death, Janie Liszewski) because they're private people, and I don't want to tell their story," Valerie explained. "I was just trying to tell the story between me and Ed without being hurtful."
Tom hasn’t commented on the reason for his divorce from Valerie, but perhaps he couldn’t stay married to someone who felt as though he wasn't her soulmate.
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