poignant revelations

Cher's "loveless marriage" to Sonny Bono pushed her to her breaking point

The pair first met when Cher was just 16 and Bono was 27

Senior Writer

NOVEMBER 19, 2024 11:35 AM ESTNOV 19, 2024, 11:35 AM EST

Cher is peeling back the layers of her storied life in her new book, "Cher: The Memoir, Part 1," released Tuesday, November 19, 2024. Among the most poignant revelations in the memoir is the candid recounting of her tumultuous relationship with Sonny Bono — her former husband, creative partner, and the other half of the iconic duo, Sonny & Cher.

The pair first met when Cher was just 16 and Bono was 27. They rose to stardom with hits like "I Got You Babe" and their wildly successful variety show, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour." Although they tied the knot in an unofficial ceremony in 1964, they legally married in 1969. Despite their professional success, Cher reveals their marriage was far from harmonious.

LONDON - 1966: (L-R) Sonny Bono (1935-1998), an American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician and his then-wife Cher, an American singer, actress and television personality, who together were an American rock duo in the 1960s and 1970s. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector, in London, England, 1966. (Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images)

As reported by People, Cher describes Bono as controlling, and she writes about feeling "trapped" in what she calls a "loveless marriage." This emotional turmoil came to a head in 1972 when Cher, then 26, found herself on the balcony of her Las Vegas hotel, grappling with feelings of isolation and despair.

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"I was dizzy with loneliness," Cher writes. "I saw how easy it would be to step over the edge and simply disappear. For a few crazy minutes, I couldn't imagine any other option. I did this five or six times."

Ultimately, thoughts of her loved ones, including her child Chaz, her mother Georgia, and her sister Georganne, helped her step back. Cher recalls realizing she had another choice: "I don't have to jump off. I can just leave him."

American pop singing duo Sonny & Cher with their daughter Chastity (later Chaz), circa 1973. Left to right: Chastity Bono, Sonny Bono (1935 - 1998) and Cher. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Soon after, the couple separated. Their divorce, finalized in 1975, was fraught with legal battles, including a heated custody fight over Chaz. Despite their differences, the two eventually reconciled on a personal level and reunited professionally for "The Sonny & Cher Show" after their split.

Cher recounts a pivotal moment of healing that occurred years later when Bono, who passed away in 1998, sought to make amends. "One day, he came into the kitchen at my house and said, 'Cher, I want to apologize. I realized that I hurt you in so many ways, and I was wrong.' That went a long way for me," she told the publication in 2023.

1970: Married American singing duo Sonny (1935 - 1998) and Cher smiling and holding their infant daughter Chastity at Zsa Zsa Gabor's opening at 'The Flamingo,' Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Max B. Miller/Fotos International/Getty Images)

The two-part memoir project, announced in July, covers Cher's journey from her early life to her rise to fame and her complicated dynamic with Bono. During an interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Cher explained that her life was "too immense for only one book."

The first installment captures the joy, pain, and resilience that shaped Cher's early career and personal life. Cher's book tour kicks off November 20 in New York City and will stop in Englewood, N.J., London, Beverly Hills, Calif., and San Francisco.