What Wolfgang's Life Has Been Like Since Eddie Van Halen Died

Eddie Van Halen cemented his legacy as one of rock's greatest guitar gods. Now, his musical legacy lives on through his son, Wolfgang. Van Halen fans know all about Wolfgang, since he formed a part of the band's reunion in 2007. At the time, Wolfgang's addition to the band proved to be a controversial talking point — not only because he was only a teenager at the time, but also due to him replacing beloved bassist Michael Anthony. Regardless, it became a sight to behold as father, son, and uncle (Alex) played alongside each other on stage for many years.

In October 2020, Eddie died at the age of 65. Wolfgang and his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, were by his side until the end, with Bertinelli revealing Eddie Van Halen's touching final words to them. Appearing on "The Howard Stern Show" in November 2020, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen as a band was no more, stating, "You can't have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen."

While Wolfgang's tenure with Van Halen might be in the rearview mirror, that doesn't mean he's disappeared from the limelight altogether. He has continued to play music and achieved several major musical milestones. On a personal front, he coped with his father's death and even took a walk down the aisle to marry his long-term girlfriend. So, with all that said, let's take a look at what Wolfgang's life has been like since Eddie Van Halen died.

When people look back at what Eddie Van Halen's former bandmates said about him, you would be hard pressed to find someone who adored the guitarist as much as his son, Wolfgang. In various interviews, the musician showered praise on Eddie as both a father and world-renowned performer. In 2021, Wolfgang opened up to People about how he was affected by Eddie's death, referring to it as "really tough." He said, "What really helps me keep going is my dad, because if I just gave up and stopped and crawled in a hole, which I feel like doing every day, I know he'd be really pissed off at me. He's the only thing that keeps me going."

In 2023, Wolfgang told Classic Rock that he has had anxiety and depression since the early 2000s. He discussed how he's "still working through a lot of that stuff today" and listed the various causes. In addition, he explained that even though he's pleased to have the Van Halen surname, he's often seen as "just an extension of the name."

Wolfgang revealed that he felt particularly anxious playing his first show with his solo band Mammoth WFH in 2021. "I was sitting there in the little dressing room, going: 'I don't know if I can do this,'" he said. "I've found that the time that I'm most unable to control my anxiety is the first time I'm doing something. And that was a really, really, really big first."

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By the time of Eddie Van Halen's death, Wolfgang had played with Van Halen for 13 years. He also helped out musical friends such as Clint Lowery and Tremonti in different ways during this period. Needless to say, he was far from some fresh-faced newcomer who was still paying his dues in the music industry when he decided to go solo.

Even before Eddie's passing, Wolfgang had started work on Mammoth WFH, a venture where he wrote all the songs and played all the instruments that ended up becoming the 2021 eponymous album. Speaking to Overdrive in December 2022, Wolfgang explained how Eddie listened to a few of the tracks he was working on when he was still alive and he considered having his father feature on the album. That said, Wolfgang always wanted it to be a solo project for himself.

"This is just something for me," he said. "It's a sacred experience for me. It's my project, and an artistic outlet for me and my mental wellbeing. I'm so lucky that I have this incredible live band that just slays live, so I get to bring this creation to life on stage." Wolfgang compared Mammoth WFH to the way in which Nine Inch Nails operates. What some fans don't know about Trent Reznor is that he writes and records all the music as Nine Inch Nails then recruits the necessary musicians for the live experience.

After launching Mammoth WVH, Wolfgang Van Halen hit the road in support of the debut album in 2021. Part of the tour included a slot supporting the legendary rock 'n' roll group Guns 'N Roses. One would think an event like this wouldn't faze Wolfgang since he was used to playing with Van Halen for so many years, but he told Consequence that it was a way to test himself on a different level.

"It was a wonderful way to start because it's a trial by fire," Wolfgang said. "You're being thrown to the lions every night because the Guns' audiences are — at least when we were on there — they would tell us that they're notoriously not very receptive to openers. So, when it started going really well, it was like, 'Oh, s***, we're actually doing it!' It was kind of a dream."

In addition to opening for GNR, Axl Rose requested that Wolfgang play "Paradise City" with the band on the final two nights of the tour. Wolfgang agreed to it, though admitted that the nerves kicked in and he spent every free moment he could learning the track inside and out to make sure he took everyone down to Paradise City when he stepped on stage.

Here's a fun fact: Wolfgang Van Halen is one of the biggest fans of the sitcom "Friends." Speaking to the New Yorker, Wolfgang discussed how he used to watch episodes of the series with his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, once he came home from school. On an interesting side note, Bertinelli, who is an actor, received the chance to audition for the part of Carol on the show in the '90s, but she turned down the opportunity.

In 2021, Wolfgang proved his fan credentials when he headed out on a private "Friends" Experience tour in Gramercy Park. The musician showed off his knowledge of the show's storylines at the different stops and declared that "nobody can beat me at 'Friends' trivia." He also revealed how Matthew Perry's character, Chandler Bing, played a major part in shaping his own personality, which he described as "sarcastic."

After "Friends" star Matthew Perry died at the age of 54 in 2023, Wolfgang lashed out at TMZ on his X account. The musician slammed the publication's coverage of Perry's death and how it obtained the details before they were made officially public. Wolfgang drew comparisons to when his father, Eddie, died and alleged that TMZ paid hospital staff to get private information before the family was even allowed time to mourn their loss.

The launch of Mammoth WVH's debut album exceeded everyone's wildest expectations. The record peaked at the number 12 position on the Billboard 200, and one of its tracks "Distance" secured a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song. For Wolfgang, the nomination proved to be an extra special moment because of the story behind the song.

Chatting to Variety in 2021, Wolfgang stated that the inspiration for the track was born "during a particularly bad bout of his [father's] sickness. He did bounce back for a little bit, it was one of those dark periods, and the song was based on those feelings of what it would be like without someone as important in my life as my father or mother."

Wolfgang explained how he played a version of the song for Eddie around 2015 and that his father wept when he listened to it. "It was a really special moment that I'll never forget," Wolfgang said. Ultimately, "Distance" didn't win the Grammy Award in the end — that honor went to Foo Fighters for the track "Waiting on a War" — but Wolfgang found the experience of recording the song to be "cathartic" especially after his father's death.

The tragic death of Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters caught everyone off guard in March 2022. The highly acclaimed drummer was adored and celebrated by fans and peers alike, to the point in which a tribute concert was organized at Wembley Stadium in September 2022 to remember him and his outstanding musical achievements. Names like Queen's Brian May, Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Rush's Geddy Lee, and Wolfgang Van Halen performed alongside members of the Foo Fighters as one last show of respect for Hawkins.

Wolfgang admitted to Spin in November 2023 that he was nervous about playing the event. Since there were 90,000 people in attendance and many more watching via the broadcast, he thought that any bum note or misstep would have been much more amplified than usual. It also didn't help that he would be playing Van Halen songs on stage for the first time without his father, Eddie.

Wolfgang admitted that he turned down the opportunity to play the concert when Dave Grohl called him the first time, because he was uncomfortable performing Van Halen songs without his father. After speaking to his inner circle, though, Wolfgang realized it would be a great way to pay tribute to both Hawkins and his father at the same time, so he did it.

Eddie Van Halen didn't only become famous for his playing style, but also the guitar that enabled his wizardry across the fretboard. The story has been repeated a million times over: Eddie bought a cheap guitar body and neck, then modified and added to it for his own purposes. The guitar would go on to become known as Frankenstein, which was used by Eddie to create a number of Van Halen's most celebrated hits.

Among the guitar-playing community, the Frankenstein is known as the Holy Grail — something to be looked at and cherished but never to be touched by anyone except Eddie. One person who received the opportunity to handle the Frankenstein was Eddie's son, Wolfgang, who revealed that he used it to record two tracks "Mammoth" and "Feel," which are both off Mammoth WVH's 2021 debut album.

"You can feel the history sort of emanating out of the Frankenstein," Wolfgang told Guitar World in 2023. "Picking up that guitar is almost a religious experience, even if you're not a religious person. You just kinda hold it and feel the history right there in your hands." Wolfgang also shared an anecdote of how Eddie once flung the guitar at a couch and everyone panicked while Eddie appeared nonchalant about it.

The "Barbie" film ruled 2023. Not only did it become the highest-grossing film of the year, but it also provided a plethora of unforgettable moments, such as Ryan Gosling's Ken singing the brooding ballad "I'm Just Ken." The song crawled into everyone's ears like a perfect earworm and refused to ever leave.

There's a good reason for this too. While soundtrack producer Mark Ronson worked with co-producer Andrew Wyatt to write the track, they enlisted the help of serious heavy hitters in the rock 'n' roll genre to leave their stamp on it. Guns N' Roses' six-string-slinger Slash, drummer Josh Freese of Devo and A Perfect Circle fame, and Wolfgang Van Halen all contributed their musical prowess to "I'm Just Ken."

Speaking to Billboard in March 2024, Wolfgang explained how he met Ronson at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert and everything started from there. "Mark Ronson and I hit it off, and he reached out and hit me up and it was just a really good time," Wolfgang said. "I spent two days in his studio and we just played around with ideas and it was a really good time."

October 15, 2023 turned out to be a special day for Wolfgang Van Halen as he married his long-time girlfriend, Andraia Allsop. The couple hosted their wedding in their Los Angeles home and invited 90 of their closest friends and family to share the monumental day with them.

Wolfgang walked out alongside his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, to the Van Halen song "316" that his father, Eddie, had written for him. Bertinelli even told People that Eddie would have been happy to see who Wolfgang had become and his marriage to Allsop, saying, "Ed would've been absolutely beaming and so, so proud of the man Wolfie has become and is becoming and so happy that he has found Andraia, someone who really understands Wolfie, who he is and who he wants to be and supports him wholeheartedly."

In October 2024, Wolfgang hopped on his Instagram account to share several sweet pictures of the couple from their wedding day. He included a touching tribute to his wife, writing, "One year married, nine years together, eternally lucky and grateful. Love you more than anything, [Andraia]. Here's to forever."

After his death, Eddie Van Halen's family planned to look for his unreleased music. It's testament to his legacy that fans continue to want to hear more of the virtuoso guitarist's gifts to the world. It isn't only the listeners who miss Eddie, though, as Wolfgang often talks about the hole left in his life after his father's death.

On his Instagram account, Wolfgang shares pictures and messages about Eddie on occasion. In January 2024, he posted a picture of the pair along with a heartfelt message to his father on what would have been his 69th birthday.

"I miss hearing you laugh," Wolfgang wrote. "I miss laughing with you. It's the little things. I'll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today. But then again, that's not very different than any other day so far without you. I love and miss you more than you could ever possibly know." Fans rallied in the comments section, expressing their own birthday wishes to Eddie and letting Wolfgang know his father was loved and appreciated by many.

Wolfgang Van Halen's inclusion in Van Halen in the 2000s irked a number of fans who believed bassist Michael Anthony had been sidelined to make space for Eddie's son in the group. Van Halen had become notorious for their messy band breakups, but Wolfgang received the short end of the stick as people claimed he was a nepo baby who received handouts and blamed him for Anthony not being a part of the reunion. It's even more tragic to remember that Wolfgang joined the band as a teenager, yet he faced such vitriol for years thereafter.

Despite the narrative created by a highly vocal majority, there's never been any tension between Anthony and Wolfgang. In December 2023, Wolfgang shared an Instagram photo of him hugging Anthony at a show and referred to him as "an old friend." He later discussed this brief reunion with Ultimate Classic Rock in March 2024, explaining how he hadn't seen Anthony in 20 years and it was terrific to catch up with him after all this time.

"People try to make it seem like there's some animosity, hatred or competition between us, [but] it's never been that way," Wolfgang said. "I've literally always loved Mike. He's a wonderful person, wonderful guy and a wonderful musician. Man, it was such a pleasure and joy to reconnect with him. It was like a family reunion."