‘It was our happiest time together’

Cher wasn’t kidding when she sang “Love Hurts.”

The singer rose to stardom in the 60s alongside Sonny Bono as the pop duo Sonny & Cher, but their split was as bitter as they come, with Cher claiming Bono took all her money.

“I’m still really angry in a certain way,” Cher told Yahoo Entertainment in an interview discussing Cher: The Memoir, Part 1, which is out now.

While America fell in love with the couple’s songs, style and sarcastic banter, their romance – which began in 1962 – fell apart behind the scenes. When Cher legally separated from Sonny in 1974, she was blindsided to learn that she had no money of her own. Bono, who controlled their business and finances, had set up a company, Cher Enterprises, which he owned. It also made Cher his employee. She was under contract with him. Their divorce was a battle royal, with Cher citing “involuntary servitude” as the reason for their split.

“One question I asked him more than once was, ‘When did you think it was OK to take my money?'” Cher recalled. “He said, ‘I always knew you wanted to go’.”

The couple met when she was 16 (claimed to be 18) and he was a 27-year-old divorcee and moved in together. His songwriting talents (“I Got You Babe”, “The Beat Goes On”) combined with her voice and fashion sense made them superstars.

But Cher wrote that Bono became controlling (monitored all their business dealings), moody (abused prescription drugs), jealous (burned her tennis clothes after she casually said hello to some men after a lesson) and unfaithful (including with “whores in our home”). She felt lonely, overworked and like she was in a loveless marriage. Before she decided to leave him in October 1972, she experienced suicidal thoughts on a hotel balcony, which was a wake-up call.

Being Sonny & Cher made ending their relationship complicated. They actually hid their split from the public at first and continued to play along The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and live together. Although Bono took her earnings and labeled her an “unfit mother” during a custody battle over Chaz, they later had another TV show (The Sonny & Cher Show) and toured together again. She would also turn to him for advice. (Cher memorably hailed Bono at his funeral in 1998.)

“Nothing could break the bond,” Cher said. “Like I said to somebody, if he walked in my door right now, we’d be Sonny & Cher.”

Although marriage and a business partnership were not for them, they loved performing.

“You know what: It was our happiest time together,” she said of being on stage. “We were equal. The other times we were not.”

Even right after she left him in 1972, they showed up to the set that week and had chemistry as a performing couple.

“It’s hard to explain to people, but what we did on TV, it was real,” she said. “Two days after I left him – and he was really upset – we went on one Sonny and Cher episode and we were hysterical. We were so funny.”

She added, “We were always just … something more than the sum of the parts.”

And they shared a sense of humor, perhaps only they understood at times.

In her memoir, Cher described how their 1972 breakup unfolded, referring to it as the darkest moment of their marriage. How – instead of ending her life on the balcony of the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas – she ran off with the band’s guitarist, Bill. But because Cher and Bono continued to live together – so as not to damage their public image – they discussed what happened days later at their breakfast table.

Cher wrote that Bono told her he was seriously considering throwing her off the balcony of their hotel. While she wrote that she didn’t think he would actually do it, he told her how he planned to get away with it and end up with a book deal and his own show. Cher wrote that she replied, “There would have been no need to push me because I wanted to jump!” She wrote that they burst out laughing over the whole thing.

“How much fun is that?” Cher said when we brought up the story. “We laughed so hard about it. I said, Sonny, this is the funniest damn thing I’ve ever heard.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911 or call 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-8255 or text HOME to the crisis text line at 741741.

Cher: The Memoir, Part 1 is out now.