Alex Van Halen Was Forced Into Rehab

Alex Van Halen is a legendary drummer and had a larger-than-life stage presence back in the day. However, Alex’s story has a darker side.

A side of addiction, redemption, and the love that saved his life. During an interview with CNN, Alex opened up on his father passing away from alcohol addiction. He then revealed that he and his brother Eddie Van Halen also struggled with addiction but he quit as he went into rehab.

In his new memoir Brothers, Alex opens up about his struggles and how his wife, Stine Schyberg, pulled him back from the brink.

In his new memoir Brothers, Alex opened up about his struggles and how his wife, Stine Schyberg, pulled him back from the brink. In the 1990s, Alex Van Halen found himself in a spiral. Touring with Van Halen on the Balance tour in 1995, he was already dealing with intense neck pain from a vertebral injury he’d suffered years earlier. But the grueling pace of rock star life made things worse. Sleep became impossible. Van Halen’s tour manager offered him two Valiums to take the edge off. What began as a quick fix turned into a full-blown addiction.

For six months, he walked through life in what he described as a ‘fluffy cloud,’ disconnected from everything around him. And while his addiction consumed him, his wife, Stine, became his lifeline.”

Alex credits her with saving his life. In Brothers, he reveals that Stine had already experienced the devastation addiction could cause. Her brother, also a drummer, tragically died from a heroin overdose. When she saw Alex slipping into addiction, she wasn’t about to stand by and watch it happen again.”

“‘I owe that woman my life,’ Alex writes. ‘She loved me enough—and was strong enough—to say, “I’m out of here,” when she saw me slipping into addiction.’ He vividly remembers Stine walking out the door with their cat in a box, a moment that became a turning point in his journey.”

“Alex’s battle with addiction didn’t happen in isolation. His brother and bandmate, Eddie Van Halen, fought his own struggles with drugs and alcohol for much longer. Alex has spoken candidly about how Eddie’s addictions took a toll—not just on their relationship but also on Eddie’s health. Alex believes it played a role in Eddie’s death from cancer in 2020, saying the years of substance abuse weakened his brother’s ability to fight the disease.”