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Valerie Bertinelli <\/strong>revealed that a canceled sitcom led to the birth of her son, Wolfgang Van Halen<\/strong>. The actress made the reveal during a \u201cmemory bank\u201d segment of The Drew Barrymore Show <\/em>on Sept. 18, according to People<\/em> magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bertinelli\u2019s <\/strong>acting career was in high gear in the 1970s and \u201880s, with roles on Apple\u2019s Way, The Hardy Boys<\/em>, a string of TV movies, and most notably, the CBS sitcom One Day at a Time<\/em>, where she played Barbara Cooper for nine seasons. She also married rock legend Eddie Van Halen<\/strong> in 1981.<\/p>\n Six years after her run on One Day at a Time<\/em> ended, Bertinelli was offered another comedy series, titled Sydney<\/em>. She played a private investigator alongside Craig Bierko, Rebeccah Bush, Daniel Baldwin, Barney Martin, <\/strong>and a pre-Friends<\/em> Matthew Perry.<\/strong><\/p>\n The series debuted on March 21, 1990, but 13 episodes later, it was canceled. Perry, for one, was relieved. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing<\/a>,<\/em> the actor confessed to having a \u201ccrushing\u201d crush on his married co-star and fantasized that she\u2019d leave Van Halen for him. He also alleged that he had one make-out session with Bertinelli, which they never spoke about again.<\/p>\n \u201cThe show did very badly, and I was so grateful that four weeks after that fateful night, Sydney<\/em> got canceled, and I didn\u2019t have to see Valerie anymore,\u201d Perry wrote.<\/p>\n On The Drew Barrymore Show<\/em>, Bertinelli revealed that the cancellation of Sydney<\/em> marked a major life pivot for her.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as we were canceled, I said, \u2018Okay, it\u2019s time,\u2019\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd I got pregnant a couple weeks later. I was like, \u2018I\u2019m 30. We\u2019re either gonna do it now or we\u2019re not, Ed.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Yeah, yeah!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen welcomed their son Wolfgang on March 16, 1991, almost one year to the day that Sydney<\/em> debuted.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac<\/strong>SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong><\/a>\ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/p>\n While there had previously been rumors that Bertinelli struggled with infertility, in a 2001 interview with the Deseret News<\/em><\/a>, the actress confirmed that she made a conscious decision not to have a child for the first 10 years of her marriage. The timing was right when Sydney <\/em>ended, so she quickly became pregnant.<\/p>\n Bertinelli returned to acting soon after Wolfgang\u2019s birth. She posted an Instagram photo<\/a> dated October 1991 that showed her holding baby Wolfie while on location for a TV miniseries.<\/p>\n \u201cFilming In a Child\u2019s Name in Wilmington, North Carolina,\u201d she captioned the photo. \u201cMy mom and Ed watched Wolfie while I was on set.\u201d<\/p>\n Although her marriage to Van Halen didn\u2019t last, Bertinelli once told fans on Instagram that the birth of their son was the best part of her life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we had together was this beautiful son that we both unconditionally loved,\u201d she said, per Today.com<\/a>. \u201cThat’s what I got out of that marriage \u2014 it was Wolfie \u2014 the best thing that ever happened to me.”<\/p>\n This story was originally reported by Parade<\/a> on Sep 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n