VALERIE BERTINELLI and her rock star ex-hubby EDDIE VAN HALEN are closer than ever, and their new spouses aren’t too thrilled about it, say sources.
More than 10 years after they split up, the 52-year-old actress and her guitar hero ex, 57, have bonded over his ongoing health woes, including recent emergency surgery for diverticulitis, sources say.
“Eddie was at the brink of death, and Valerie was scared stiff that she was going to lose him,” a friend told The ENQUIRER. “She’s told Eddie that she’ll be there whenever he needs her.”
The two are parents to son Wolfgang, 21, and their connection has strained relationships with their new spouses, a friend says. Eddie wed his publicist Janie Liszewski in 2009, while former “One Day at a Time” star Valerie tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend, financier Tom Vitale, in January 2011.
“Both Tom and Janie accept there’s still a bond between Eddie and Valerie,” the friend said.
“But it disturbs Janie that whenever Eddie has a crisis, Valerie reverts to wife mode and wants to be his caretaker. As for Tom, he and Eddie are good friends, but it bothers him that Valerie puts their life together on hold to be at Eddie’s side.”
Valerie married the rocker when she was just 20, and they became one of Hollywood’s most high-profile couples. But Eddie battled substance abuse and serious health issues, including hip replacement surgery and a bout with tongue cancer, during their marriage.
“Valerie was with Eddie through those crises, and she feels like she should be there for him now,” a friend says. “And when Eddie’s in trouble, the first person he calls is Val. But both of them have new lives with new mates and they’re just courting disaster.”
