Cher Reflects on Her Troubled Marriage to Sonny Bono in New Memoir

Cher recently shared her experiences in "Cher: The Memoir, Part 1," released on November 19. This memoir highlights her tumultuous relationship with Sonny Bono.

Cher and Bono met when she was 16 and he was 27. They achieved fame together with their hit "I Got You Babe" and their show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Although they had an unofficial wedding in 1964, they married officially in 1969. Cher describes Bono as controlling, leading her to feel trapped in what she characterizes as a "loveless marriage."

In 1972, while in Las Vegas for work, Cher experienced her breaking point. In her hotel, she ventured onto the balcony and contemplated jumping.

"I was dizzy with loneliness," Cher, now 78, recalls. "I saw how easy it would be to step over the edge and simply disappear." She admitted to considering this several times. However, thoughts of her loved ones, including her young child Chaz, her mother Georgia, and sister Georganne, dissuaded her. Cher notes, "This could make people who look up to me feel it’s a viable solution."

Eventually, she had an epiphany in Las Vegas: "I don't have to jump off. I can just leave him." Cher and Bono quietly separated shortly after, ultimately filing for divorce in 1974. Their divorce became official in 1975 after a difficult custody battle for Chaz. Over time, they maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship and even worked together on The Sonny & Cher Show.

In 2023, reflecting on Bono, Cher told PEOPLE that he "pissed me off royally and hurt me," although they eventually found peace. Cher recounts a moment when Bono apologized to her, acknowledging the pain he caused, which had a meaningful impact on her.

Cher announced her two-part memoir in July, revealing it would cover her extraordinary early years through her complex relationship with Bono, which gained them fame but led to their separation. During a November 2023 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she described her life as "too immense for only one book."

Cher's book tour begins on November 20 in New York City, with planned stops in Englewood, N.J.; London; Beverly Hills, Calif.; and San Francisco.