In her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, Cher reveals she contemplated suicide multiple times during her tumultuous marriage to Sonny Bono. The music icon, now 78, writes about how Sonny’s controlling behavior left her feeling “dizzy with loneliness” at the height of their fame in the early 1970s.
Cher recalls a night in 1972 when she stood on a hotel balcony, overwhelmed by despair. She had considered ending her life “five or six times,” but each time, thoughts of her child Chas, her mother, and others who looked up to her pulled her back from the edge. Sonny, she writes, controlled every aspect of her personal and professional life, even denying her access to her own bank account.
During their grueling schedule of filming The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and performing nightly in Las Vegas, Cher weighed just 98 pounds and struggled with the emotional toll. A turning point came one night when she realized she didn’t need to end her life but instead could leave her husband. Despite striking a deal to gain some independence, their relationship remained fraught until their divorce in 1975.
Cher reflects on her eventual freedom, noting how her experiences shaped her resilience. Following her split from Sonny, she briefly married Gregg Allman, but their union ended in part due to his struggles with addiction. Cher’s revelations offer a deeply personal glimpse into her struggles and triumphs during one of the most challenging periods of her life.
