Eddie Van Halen’s Brother Alex Van Halen Breaks His Silence on Rocker’s Death

Eddie Van Halen’s brother, Alex Van Halen, is speaking out following the rocker’s death this week. Alex, who is another founder of Van Halen alongside Eddie, shared a childhood photo of the two boys together with Entertainment Tonight. “Hey Ed. Love you. See you on the other side. Your brother, Al,” Alex, 67, said. In the black and white photo, Alex, who is two years older than Eddie, stands over his younger brother, who is playing a toy drum set.

Alex’s tribute came a few days after Eddie’s son and bandmate, Wolfgang — whom he shared with ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli — announced the tragic news of Eddie’s death. “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” Wolfgang shared. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.”

Eddie’s bandmate, David Lee Roth, also honored him with a throwback photo of the two of them onstage. “What a Long Great Trip It’s Been,” he wrote. Eddie’s other former bandmate, Sammy Hagar, wrote, “Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family.” Hagar revealed this week that he had reconciled with Eddie after previously describing their relationship as “in the toilet.”

In a letter that Howard Stern read on air during Wednesday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio show, Hagar wrote, “I would love you to share that Eddie and I had been texting, and it’s been a love fest since we started communicating earlier this year. We both agreed not to tell anyone because of all the rumors it would stir up about a reunion, et cetera, and we both knew that wasn’t going to happen. But he also didn’t want anyone to know about his health.”

“He stopped responding to me a month ago, and I figured it wasn’t good,” Hagar continued. “I reached out one more time last week and when he didn’t respond, I figured it was a matter of time, but it came way too soon.”

Eddie died at the age of 65 on Tuesday morning after a years-long battle with throat cancer. He was surrounded by family at the time of his death, including his wife Janie, Wolfgang and Alex.