Tina Turner - My Love Story

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THERES ALWAYS BEEN AN EMOTION IN MY VOICE BECAUSE IT REACHED BACK TO THE LIFE I WAS LIVING. WHEN THERE WERE TEARS ONSTAGE, IT WASNT HOLLYWOOD, IT WAS REAL.

W hen I was a little girl, I loved taking chances. Id swing over a creek in the backwoods of Nutbush, Tennessee, the place where I grew up, never thinking for a second what might happen if I fell into that swampy water. I tussled with animalshorses, mules, even snakes. Im afraid of them now, but I wasnt when I was a child. I wasnt afraid of anything. One day, when I was playing in the woods, I found a little green snake and I thought, Where did that one come from? I was sure the baby had gotten separated from its mother. So I picked it up with a stick and went looking for the nest. Sure enough, when I found it, there was a big, ugly snake, ready to strike to protect its young. Immediately, instinct took over, not fear but self-preservation. I jumped up and ran as fast as I could, my braids coming undone and the sash of my dress falling off, until I was somewhere safe. The point is, I knew when to run away from snakes.

Throughout my life, there have been lots of times you might have asked me, How did you get out of that one? I did dangerous things, and dangerous things were done to me, but in the eleventh hour, something always told me when to run, how to survive. No matter what happened to me, I came through it every time. I decided, well, maybe Im supposed to live . Maybe Im here for a reason. And maybe the reason is to share my story with you.

You might be thinking, Tina, we know your story. We know all about you and Ike, and the hell you lived through with him. We know you escaped from that terrible relationship, and that you endured. But, heres something that might surprise you. At this point in my life, Ive spent far more time without Ike than with him. Forty-two years, to be exact. Thats a whole second life, one with adventures, accomplishments, and love beyond my wildest dreams. But theres also been a dark side. During the past few years, Ive faced life-and-death challenges I never, ever, expected. Let me tell you my story.

Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams

Speak the language of love like you know what it means

T ina, will you marry with me? This was my first proposal from Erwin Bach, the love-at-first-sight love of my life, the man who made me feel dizzy the first time I saw him. His phrasing was a bit quainthes German, so English is not his first languagebut I liked it. He was probably a little surprised when I said, I dont have an answer. All I knew was that it wasnt yes and it wasnt no. This was in 1989, after we had been together for three years. I was turning fifty, and Erwin, who was thirty-three, thought I needed a commitment from him. He was gracious to offer, but I loved our relationship just the way it was. Plus, I wasnt certain how I felt about marriage. Marriage can change things and, in my experience, not always for the better.

Twenty-three years later (so much for not having a commitment), Erwin proposed again. This time, his timing was perfect. We were with a dozen close friends, cruising the Mediterranean on our friend Sergios yacht, the Lady Marina . Looking back, I should have known something significant was about to happen. We were somewhere very pretty, but it wasnt romantic enough for Erwin. I found out later that he consulted Sergio, who suggested we sail to the Greek island of Skorpios. Erwin, this is the best place I know for a most romantic moment, Sergio promised him.

That night, as the yacht changed direction and began speeding through the water to a new destination, I asked, Where are we going, darling? Erwin was vague and pretended not to know, which should have been a dead giveaway because Erwin always knows everything. The following morning, I awakened to the sight of beautiful Skorpios, the former Onassis retreat, with Jackies famous blue-doored bathhouse silhouetted on the shore.

We spent a lazy day on the boatI always found a shady spot to protect my skin while everyone else was basking in the sunthen separated to get ready for dinner. When we gathered with our friends for cocktails, all the men were wearing white. Thats nice, I thought. They look really handsome in their white jeans and white shirts. And the ladies were equally well turned out in their summer finery. I was wearing a black linen dress, cool and elegant. We were having a wonderful timegreat company, soft breezes, a moonlit evening. Then, after dinner, the atmosphere changed: suddenly, I could feel there was a sense of anticipation, even excitement, in the air. What was going on? I wondered.

I noticed that everyone had their eyes on Erwin, who walked up to me and knelt down on one knee. He was holding a small box in his outstretched handa timeless gesture. I asked you before. Now Ill ask you again. Tina, will you marry me? He said it in perfect English this time. The men were wiping their eyesI couldnt get over that they were cryingand the women yelled Whooohoo as I answered him with an emphatic Yes! In that moment, I was saying yes to Erwin, and yes to love, a commitment that didnt come easily to me. I mean, here I was at the age of seventy-three and I was about to be a bride for the first time. Thats right, for the first time. My name is Tina Turner, and I was married to Ike Turner, but I never was a bride.

Let me tell you about my wedding to Ike, if I can even call it a wedding. I wasnt the kind of girl who fantasized about growing up and having a big wedding. Sure, I imagined I would get married someday, but we didnt know about fancy weddings back in Nutbushat least, not the kind where the bride wore white and a veil and all the trimmings. I dont remember any ceremonies like that because my parents and all my aunts and uncles had already gotten married by the time I came along (or they never married).

When Ike proposed to me, there was nothing romantic about it at all. He was trying to negotiate his way out of a tricky situation with one of his former wives whod heard that we had a successful record and wanted to extract some money from him. Ike had been married so many times, I lost trackand all those wives were in addition to the countless girlfriends who came and went with dizzying speed. Ike slept withor tried to sleep withevery woman in our orbit, married, single, and everything in between. I dont remember why marrying me was the solution to this particular financial problem, but in Ikes mind it was the right maneuver. Out of the blue, he said, You want to marry me? Just like thatgruff, terse, no niceties. That was Ikes way.

I didnt want to do it, and looking back, I now know how much I really didnt want to do it. By this time, I had seen and experienced Ike at his worst. But our lives were so complicatedtogether, we had a family of four children to raise (Ronnie, the son we had together; Craig, my son from a previous relationship; and Ike Jr. and Michael, the boys Ike had with his most recent wife, Lorraine), and we shared a careerso I didnt have much choice.

I figured if we were going to get married, I should at least look the part. I put on my best dress and a stylish brown hat with a wide brim. Why a hat? I just felt it was the proper thing to do. I didnt want to look sexy, the way I did onstage or at a club, and I thought a hat would make me seem more serious and wedding-like. I tell you, when it came to social matters (and manners) there was no one around to guide me. I had to rely on my own instincts. I didnt have any friends because of Ike, so wherever we went, I was always watching peoplein airports, in new cities, especially when we performed in Europewatching and learning. I also read fashion magazines like Vogue, Bazaar , and Womens Wear Daily , constantly working to improve myself. Thats where I learned how to dress, how to wear makeup, and how to develop a personal sense of style.