Cher revealed Sonny Bono controlled her during marriage on « Armchair Expert » podcast, describing how her late ex-husband restricted her freedom and burned her clothes.
Cher is opening up about how her late ex-husband Sonny Bono controlled her during their marriage and musical partnership.
On Monday’s episode of « Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard », the 79-year-old singer reflected on her turbulent personal and professional relationship with Bono, with whom she rose to fame in the 1960s as the pop duo Sonny & Cher.
In 1962, the former couple first met in Los Angeles when Cher was 16 and Bono was a 27-year-old aspiring music producer. Bono, who was working with record producer Phil Spector at the time, became Cher’s mentor, manager and creative partner. The two formed Sonny & Cher in 1964 and they tied the knot during an unofficial wedding ceremony in Tijuana, Mexico later that year.
« We had a lot of fun, and he was special in a way, and then it became very treacherous », Cher recalled.
In 1965, Sonny & Cher made their breakthrough with the success of their song « I Got You, Babe », which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The duo, who officially married in 1969, went on to release scores of other hits with Bono handling songwriting, production, and business, while Cher was the breakout star and the duo’s main draw.
Their success later expanded into television when they launched the variety show « The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour », which made them household names in the early 1970s.
While appearing on « Armchair Expert », Cher explained that her relationship with Bono began to unravel at the height of their fame as he began to increasingly control her day-to-day decisions.
« This is when now this kind of new side of Sonny comes out », Shepard said.
« Yeah », Cher agreed with a nod.
« Which is like incredibly controlling », Shepard continued. « You have this huge success. There’s a lot of money. You’re not allowed to leave the house. You’re allowed to go shopping. That’s pretty much all you’re allowed to do, right? »
« Yes », Cher said.
« And he’s cutting you off from friendships you have », Shepard said. « Was it happening slowly? Was it more like you woke up one day and were like, ‘Oh, I don’t have a life’ or while it was happening, were you like, ‘What’s going on?' »
« It took a little while », Cher admitted. « I couldn’t do anything.
