Cher's memoir reveals fresh insights into her divorce from Sonny Bono
Cher and Sonny Bono's union may have been brief, but their musical legacy lingers on. In her new memoir, Cher sheds light on the imbalance in their professional triumphs.
Released this week, "Cher: The Memoir – Part One" delves into her early life and her time with Bono, whom she encountered at the tender age of 16 while he was 27.
“It wasn’t passionate; I just loved him,” she revealed to CBS, highlighting their shared aspirations.
Their dreams gave rise to numerous hits in the 1960s, notably “I’ve Got You Babe.” They later captivated audiences with "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," blending humor, live acts, and Cher's dazzling allure.
“When they realized my outfits were a draw, they spared no expense,” she reminisced.
Cher observed a shift in Bono’s demeanor.
“He just stopped caring,” she lamented. “About me.”
Jealousy brewed, intensified by a guitarist named "Bill," whose kiss sparked discord. In her memoir, she admits to telling Bono she desired the guitarist, using it as a ploy to escape.
“It all seems crazy now. I didn’t mean it, but I thought saying those words was the only way that (Bono) would let me go,” she revealed.
“I thought if I do this, it’s over,” she confessed to CBS. “He’s not gonna be able to come back. We’re not gonna be able to be Sonny & Cher. I just wanna blow it up. But I didn’t know I wanted to blow it up until I was blowing it up.”
Offered anything to remain with Bono, she chose “my own place in Malibu” plus a monthly sum of $5,000.
Two years later, her then-partner, music mogul David Geffen, unearthed a startling truth about her contract.
“Sonny owned 95 percent of the company and his lawyer owned five,” she recounted. “And it was called Cher Enterprises, but I own nothing! And we’d worked together for almost 12 years.”
When she confronted Bono, his response was, “I always knew you’d leave me.”
“And I said, ‘That’s not a reason! Son, how could you do it? I was there by your side working, all those nights, all those days, through good, through bad,’” she recounted. “He didn’t have an answer. And we were still friends after that.”
Their marriage ended in 1975.
Bono went on to serve as a Republican congressman for California’s 44th district until his tragic demise in a 1998 skiing mishap.
