Tina Turner and Ike Turner were a dynamic duo on stage and in real life. However, the songstress never enjoyed marital bliss until she met her second spouse, who was “so different” and blessed her with the “gift of life.”
Tina Turner, aka the “Queen of Rock and Roll,” was a sensational singer who rose to fame in the 1950s. As a beautiful young singer, she matched her energy with the talented Ike Turner after meeting him at a nightclub in Manhattan.
Apart from making music, the pair’s interest in each other intensified. Soon, they became romantically involved, despite the five years gap between Tina and Ike. For the upbeat powerhouse, being smitten by her, a man younger than her never got in the way of their love affair.
A few years down the line, she traveled with Ike to Tijuana, Mexico, where they exchanged marital vows. This became the beginning of another journey for the celebrity couple.
What many thought was a blissful union between like minds turned out to be the worst moment for the Queen of Rock and Roll. Decades after her divorce from Ike, Tina confessed that the relationship was plagued with verbal and physical abuse.
In her book “My Love Story,” she explained that her ex-husband hated any form of confrontation. So whenever there was a minor argument or he felt offended, she was in for a beating.
This continued for more than a decade. However, in 1976, Tina realized that it was best to leave the abusive marriage. Two years after the separation, the couple divorced.
Thankfully, Tina had the chance to experience true love again. This time, in the arms of a music executive, Erwin Bach.
Although she was not thinking of being in another relationship when she met Bach, he stuck around long enough, and the pair ended up creating the most charming love story.
Then 47-year-old Tina met who she thought was her prince charming in a story similar to a rom-com. Bach had been contracted to pick her up from the airport before a show.
Immediately Tina saw the then 30-year-old music executive from EMI; his looks instantly smote her. He had barely opened his mouth to talk, but the singer knew that he was special. In her words:
“He had the prettiest face. You could not miss it. My heart went bu-bum. It means that a soul has met. My hands were shaking. And Roger said to me, ‘Tina, you ride with Erwin,’ and I wanted to go, ‘Yay!’”
Tina confessed that the atmosphere was not set in a way that should have triggered her emotions. She could have worried about her concert in Germany and dismissed the attraction she felt for the music executive, but it was impossible.
She said: “Even then, I could have ignored what I felt—I could have listened to the ghost voices in my head telling me that I didn’t look good that day, or that I shouldn’t be thinking about romance because it never ends well. Instead, I listened to my heart. I left my comfort zone and made it a priority to get to know Erwin.”
Once she was certain about her attraction toward Bach, she proposed a future meeting in the US, which Bach honored. Soon, they became an item. While recalling the moment, Tina mentioned:
“He was just so different, so laid back, so comfortable, so unpretentious, and that was the beginning of our relationship.”
However, it was not love at first sight for Bach. Still, Bach revealed that their relationship was built on love for each other, adding that it thrived on the same foundation. He said:
“It’s love. It’s something we both have for each other. I always refer to it as an electrical charge. I still have it. Even though when I left her two hours ago, I still have that feeling. It’s in my heart. I feel very warm about this.”
Three years after their first meeting and an intense romance, Bach decided to pop the question on one of her best days: her 50th birthday.
However, Tina did not respond in the way he had expected. Instead, she gave an ambiguous response because she didn’t believe he was committed. Then, while reminiscing about the proposal, she said:
“I said, ‘I don’t have an answer.’ It wasn’t yes, it wasn’t no. Marriage says ownership. I didn’t want that ‘my’ anything, anymore. I had enough of that.”
Despite the uncertainty, Bach remained unwavering in his affection toward the famous singer, and nearly three decades later, she said yes!
The couple married in 2013 at their stunningly decorated Swiss estate. Family and friends, including famous faces like Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, dressed in white and adorned their faces with hearty smiles as they joined the long-term partners at the memorable event.
As expected, Tina, the most beautiful woman in the room, was styled in a decadent Giorgio Amani dress, crested with Swarovski crystals.
“I wanted to be the best I could be. I wanted my garden and my guests to be the best they could be. And they were.”
Furthermore, she complimented her husband for being confident in himself. The singer described him as:
“A force of nature in his own right, has never been the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame.”
Tina’s wedding venue in Switzerland had been home to the couple for many years. They enjoyed their lake-side home in the Zurich suburb of Kuesnacht. The singer’s abode, named “Chateau Algonquin,” provided a “cartoon palace energy.”
An NYT description of the home is that: “The home, which overlooks Lake Zurich, has ivy snaking up the walls, gardeners manicuring the shrubs, a life-size two-legged horse sculpture suspended from a domed ceiling, a framed rendering of Turner as an Egyptian queen, [and] a room stuffed with gilded Louis XIV style sofas.”
Tina, who retired from performing in 2009, was overwhelmed by the peace and privacy she got in the country. Although she had some family in the US, the singer labeled Switzerland as her home. She admitted:
“I am very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. I could not imagine a better place to live.”
The singer once opened up about what influenced her decision to relocate. She explained that her boyfriend-turned-husband lived there and that her music was more accepted in Europe than in America. In an interview with Larry King, she said:
“I’m as big as Madonna in Europe. I’m as big as, in some places, the Rolling Stones.”
Following her citizenship in Switzerland, the award-winning performer voluntarily relinquished her American citizenship by signing the Immigration and Naturalization Act in 2013.
Bach and Tina were one of the industry’s power couples. Through their relationship and marriage, they remained supportive of each other. Indeed, the German native proved to be a loving partner whose priority was to protect his leading lady from as much hurt as possible.
Bach was present through Tina’s health challenges. In 2016, she was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had the option of regular dialysis or a transplant. In her memoir, Tina wrote:
“Only the transplant would give me a good chance of a near-normal life. But the chances of getting a donor kidney were remote.”
That was when Bach did something extraordinary; he offered to give her one of his kidneys. The “Proud Mary” singer recalled that:
“He said he didn’t want another woman, or another life. Then he shocked me. He said he wanted to give me one of his kidneys.”
Fortunately, the kidney transplant was a success; she was grateful to her beau for giving her the “gift of life,” a gesture she believed showed the world how genuine their love story seemed.
Tina also felt “happy, overwhelmed and relieved that we’d come through this alive.” But unfortunately, shortly after this life-changing experience, the Queen of Rock and Roll lost her first child, Craig Turner.
Craig was her son from a previous relationship before she met Ike. However, Ike adopted him. Sadly, he died by suicide in 2018.
The singer kept reminiscing about her son and labeled the incident as her “saddest” moment. Tina once shared a photo where she was held by Bach while mourning the deceased.
An accompanying caption read: “My saddest moment as a mother. On Thursday, July 19, 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California. He was fifty-nine when he died so tragically, but he will always be my baby.”
Through the most challenging moments, Bach was steadfast in his love for the singer without letting her struggles or celebrity status get in the way of their love.
In 2019, Tina revealed that her partner of many years would serenade her with the best words through his letters. She shared a lovey-dovey image of her and Bach and tagged along with these words:
“Erwin and I have been together for over 30 years, and he still writes me love letters – isn’t that romantic?”
Bach and Tina proved that true love could exist outside of big screens and rom-com novels as only death did them part.
Unfortunately, Tina passed away on May 24, 2023. She was 83. Her spokesperson revealed that she died peacefully at her home after a long illness. Rest in peace, Tina.