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Valerie Bertinelli is clapping back at internet trolls who say she’s “obsessed” with her ex-husband.
In a new Instagram post, the 66-year-old actress responded to fans who give her “pushback” when she posts photos of her ex, the late Eddie Van Halen, whom she was married to from 1981 to 2007, noting, “It used to really bother me,” but not anymore.
“They never quite say the words, ‘you’re not allowed to love your ex-husband, that’s ridiculous, you can’t love him,'” she said. “They never quite say that, but they berate you and berate you for months, make you think you’re crazy until you finally say, ‘OK, fine, I don’t love him.’”
She added that while they never use the words, any time she posts photos from what she called “better days” with Van Halen and their son, “they say that you’re obsessed, say all kinds of f—ed up s— until you take the picture down.”
Bertinelli clapped back at Instagram haters who called her out for posting photos with her ex-husband. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Lifetime)
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Bertinelli said the comments were “soul-breaking,” but that she has since learned that these internet trolls “can’t tell me how I feel.”
“My heart can hold a lot of love. I have a big piece right here that’s got Ed’s name all over it,” she said. “And, if I ever fall in love again, I’ll make room in my heart for that person, without it touching the love I have for Ed, my son, my daughter-in-law, all the people that I love.”
She concluded by saying that she loves Van Halen, and “never stopped loving Ed” because her “heart loves a lot.”
The “One Day at a Time” star’s post comes one day after she shared an old photo of herself and Van Halen on her Instagram in honor of the sixth anniversary of his death, which she captioned, “Photos may fade, like old photos do, but not the memories and never the love.”
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Bertinelli said she will always have love for Van Halen. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Fans of the actress supported her in the comments section of her video, with one saying, “Ed is the father of your child. Your child is an extension of Ed in so many ways for that reason alone there is no way to stop loving him.”
“Divorce doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t, don’t or won’t love your ex anymore. I wish people would mind their own business,” another added.
Van Halen died in October 2020 at the age of 65 following a stroke. He had also been battling throat cancer for six years prior to his death.
Throughout their decades-long marriage, the couple welcomed one child together, a son named Wolfgang, now 35.
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Bertinelli and Van Halen welcomed one son together during their marriage. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Since her split from Van Halen, Bertinelli tied the knot with Tom Vitale, who she was married to from 2011 to 2021.
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