Yahoo Lifestyle Cher contemplated taking her own life near the end of her marriage to Sonny Bono: 'I was dizzy with loneliness'
As her marriage to Sonny Bono collapsed, Cher hit one of her lowest points.
Onstage, Cher and Sonny Bono embodied marital bliss singing "I've Got You Babe," but off stage, their marriage became something much darker.
Cher opens up about her complicated marriage to Bono in her new self-titled memoir, detailing their early days as friends and roommates to their impromptu marriage in an apartment bathroom. She also reveals some of the more challenging parts of their partnership, including Sonny's infidelity, his controlling, emotionally abusive nature, and the toll that their marriage took on her in the last years before their divorce.
In fact, Cher reveals that things became so difficult for her that she experienced suicidal ideation and contemplated jumping off a Las Vegas hotel balcony.
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Sonny Bono and Cher"There I was, twenty-six years old and in what had become a loveless marriage," Cher writes, detailing a particularly depressing night in October of 1972. "Sonny had given me the vehicle and the confidence to become the somebody my mother always told me I would be, and then he just lost interest."
"I stepped barefoot onto the balcony of our suite and stared down," she continues. "I was dizzy with loneliness. I saw how easy it would be to step over the edge and simply disappear. For a few crazy minutes I couldn't imagine any other option. I did this five or six times, and each time I'd think about Chas, my mother, about my sister, about everybody and how things like this could make people who look up to me feel that it's a viable solution, and I would step back inside."
Related: Cher drops petition to be appointed conservator of adult son Elijah Blue Allman
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All of this was before Cher made any of her standout films, including Moonstruck, Silkwood, and The Witches of Eastwick. It was also prior to her biggest successes as a solo music artist.
Cher didn't officially divorce Bono until 1975, but the two officially separated in 1974, after Cher had commenced a two-year relationship with record producer David Geffen. She married rock star Gregg Allman only four days after finalizing her divorce with Bono.
Related: Cher says she 'totally chickened out' while writing memoir: 'I have to go back and man up'
Though Cher and Bono had their difficulties, the two remained friends until his death in 1998. They even returned to television together for The Sonny and Cher Show, which aired from 1976-77. Throughout her memoir, Cher refers to Bono as a close confidante, often seeking advice or support from him in times of trouble.
Cher gave the eulogy at Bono's funeral at the request of his fourth wife, Mary.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
