Tina Turner has just passed away at age 83 after battling a long illness and the whole world is mourning her. Her life was full of struggles, which she transformed into heartfelt melodies that touched the hearts of millions of people. Her first husband influenced her life so much that she thought she’d never get to experience true love. When all hope was lost, she met someone that would not only change her perception of marriage but also became her savior.
Let’s find out together the story of the icon’s life, how she spent her final years, and discover the legacy she leaves behind.
She moved to St. Louis with her sister in the ’50s, where she’d visit local pubs to enjoy music. There, she met Ike, a singer in the band Kings of Rhythm, who would become her husband and musical partner.
In 1960, the couple formed their independent band — Ike and Tina Turner Revue and as their partnership turned into a relationship, they welcomed their first son Ronald. 2 years later, the duo tied the knot and together they raised 4 children, including Ike’s 2 children from previous relationships as well as Tina’s son, Craig.
Ike and Tina were married for 16 years, but throughout it, sadly, Tina went through a great deal of cruelty coming from her husband. He would often get angry and controlling over her personal life, so much so, that he was the one who gave her the stage name Tina Turner, without her knowledge.
After years of suffering, Tina filed for divorce on irreconcilable differences. She first came forward about the toxic relationship she went through 5 years after her divorce; before that, she suffered in silence. Even so, the singer forgave her late husband, Ike, who passed away in 2007, sharing that “Forgiving means to not hold on. You’ll let go.”
Tina Turner once confessed that “I have not received love almost ever in my life. I did not have it with my mother and my father from the beginning of birth, and I survived. Why did I get so far without love? I have had not one love affair that was genuine and sustained itself. Not one.”
After leaving her toxic marriage, Tina rose from the ashes and made a name for herself, all on her own.
Tina overcame her past trauma through therapy and discovering Buddhism. Despite the hardships, Tine Turner became a successful solo artist in the 1980s with her album Private Dancer, which had several hits.
Tina Turner, the music legend and rock icon, broke many world records. She won 12 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991; she was also the first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stones. Her hits like Proud Mary and What’s Love Got to Do with It, Simply the Best, became timeless classics.
A few years later, Tine Turner finally got to know the meaning of true love.
She fell in love at first sight with Erwin Bach at an airport in Germany. At the time, Bach was an up-and-coming music executive and he was assigned the job of picking her up.
Turner shared that “He had the prettiest face. You could not miss it. It was like saying, ’Where did he come from?’ He was really that good-looking. My heart went bu-bum. It means that a soul has met.”
In 1989, the duo celebrated Tina Turner’s 50th birthday, when Erwin asked her to marry him. Due to her past experience and because to her, marriage meant ownership, she didn’t give him a firm ’yes’. She was afraid of being controlled. However, many years later, she changed her mind and got hitched to the love of her life — 27 years after they first began dating.
After years of going back and forth from the US to Europe, the couple moved together to Switzerland, and Tina Turner gave up her US citizenship. In 2009, the singer retired for good from singing, ending her performance career with a world tour.
Erwin Bach saved Tina Turner’s life.
Not long after retiring, Tina began to experience health issues. She survived intestinal cancer and a stroke and then got diagnosed with kidney cancer. She was left with 2 choices, one that could give her a chance to live a near-normal life — a kidney transplant or regular dialysis. The chances of finding a kidney donor were scarce.
Bach said he didn’t want another woman or another life and decided to give Tina one of his kidneys. The transplant was successful and Tina Turner felt happy, overwhelmed, and relieved that they’d come through this alive.
Tina Turner spent the last years of her life away from the public, enjoying a quiet life, surrounded by love. Just weeks before she passed away, when asked how she would like to be remembered, Tina Turner said, “As the Queen of Rock’n’Roll. As a woman who showed other women that it is OK to strive for success on their own terms.”
I love Tina Turner! She was a incredibly talented, courageous, and dynamic woman with a tremendous will to overcome her past and succeed in the career that she loved. Her voice and music was very powerful and emotional. I have always loved the movie about her life with Angela Bassett. I admired her strength, tenacity, courage, and how she rose above all the hardship in her life to make her dreams come true. I'm so happy for her that she spent the last years of her life living in love and enjoying her life with her partner. She was, Simply The Best.
