How Tina Turner’s Second Husband Saved Her Life and Proved Love Conquers It All

Celebrities have a whole past that marked them. They had overcome many obstacles to fulfill their dreams, but people often forget that. Tina Turner is no exception. She went through many ups and downs before, during, and after achieving fame. Despite such situations, she could pull herself together and find the love of her life, with whom she would marry after more than 20 years of relationship, and, in addition, save her life at the most delicate moment of her health.

Bright Side wants to share the story of Tina Turner, who has consolidated her image as a consecrated performer and proved that after the storm always comes a calm.

From Little Ann to Tina Turner, the queen of Rock ’n’ Roll

Tina’s musical career began in the mid-1950s as a performance singer with her first husband, fellow musician Ike Turner of Kings of Rhythm. She met Ike at 17, and although Tina had sung in public on several occasions as part of a local church choir, it took a long time before she became interested in being a singer and dedicated her life to that vocation.

She recorded her first songs under the name Little Ann, and it was not until 1960 that she debuted under the name of Tina Turner with the single “A Fool in Love.”

Ike and Tina went their separate ways.

Ike and Tina were able to work on an artistic level and remained together as a couple for over a decade. However, not everything was rosy in the relationship; she had to flee her home, taking only a credit card and 36 cents with her, only to divorce two years later.

With debts to her credit, Turner had to work almost from scratch singing at conventions and hotels until luck knocked on her door again. She went to London to record the album Private Dancer, which spawned 3 Top 10 singles and won several Grammys: Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Tina was back.

Love at first sight

Professionally, Tina Turner was doing great. She could not have been more complete and fulfilled when, in 1985, she met Erwin Bach —her current husband—an executive of EMI, her music house in Europe. Meeting each other changed both their lives forever. “It was love at first sight,” she said.

Even on her personal Instagram account, Turner claims that she was the one who asked him out without thinking about what was to come in the future: “Sometimes seconds change your life because you feel a spark, an instant connection.”

The feeling and respect were reciprocated.

According to the singer’s autobiography, Erwin had also confessed his love for her, but he also accompanied her in the most bitter moments.

She told the Spanish newspaper El País the following: “I was 69 years old and on a very demanding tour. I also had high blood pressure, and I had been taking medication since 1985 (...). After working so hard for so many years, I was ready to quit. I didn’t want my fans to come to a show and think I wasn’t good anymore.”

Her second marriage

Regarding her second marriage, the singer mentioned that there came a moment when she felt at her peak: “It’s that happiness that people talk about, when you don’t want anything else, just to take a deep breath and say that everything is fine,” and added: “It’s a wonderful place to stay.”

However, a few weeks after the nuptials, things got complicated for her because of her health condition. “I woke up and felt as if lightning had struck my head and right leg. I tried to speak, but I couldn’t get the words out. I had a heart attack. It was a tough blow to my body. My right side was numb.
I had to work with a physiotherapist to learn to walk again because using my right hand would be a problem (...). My doctor was concerned that my blood pressure could affect my kidneys, so he referred me to a specialist. Dr. Jorg Bleisch informed me that my kidneys were only working at 35%,” she told El País.

Tina and Erwin, “together in sickness and in health.”

When couples marry, they vow to be faithful and loyal, especially in sickness and in health. This is something that both Tina and Erwin have done. Erwin, in that sense, was there in the star’s bitterest moments, as illness resulted in her having part of her intestine removed, thus surviving intestinal cancer.

In 2016, her kidneys went from functioning 35% to 20%, and she had only two alternatives: dialysis or a transplant. Erwin decided to be a donor and save his wife’s life because, in the singer’s own words, Erwin told her, “I don’t want another woman, or another life,” which surprised her since he was willing to prove it by donating one of his organs.

Today, the singer and her husband live in Switzerland and remain together.

What do you think of Tina Turner’s husband’s decision to save her life? What is the most remarkable thing you would do for your partner?