Fans around the world are still mourning music icon Tina Turner, who died on May 24 at the age of 83, following a long battle with cancer.
But according to one close friend, the “What’s Love Got to Do with It” singer wasn’t afraid to go near the end, after living her final years in happiness.
Stephen Sills, a designer and longtime friend of Turner’s, told People Magazine that the singer told him she had made peace with death.
“She told me two years ago, she said, ‘Stephen, I’m ready to go anytime. I’m not scared of death. I’ve had a wonderful last part of life. I’ve enjoyed it, but I’m tired,'” he told People.
Sills also said that he called Turner three weeks ago to check in, and her housekeeper told him Turner was “happy and comfortable.”
Turner spent the final years of her life living in Zürich, Switzerland, and became a Swiss citizen in 2013. That same year, she married her longtime partner, former music executive Erwin Bach.
In 2016, Turner was diagnosed with intestinal cancer that caused her kidneys to fail. When kidney donations were hard to come by, Bach donated his kidney to save her life.
“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,” she said.
After spending decades in the public spotlight — and facing personal struggles, particularly the abuses of her former husband and music partner Ike Turner — it seems Turner just wanted to spend her final years in peace and love.
“In her final years, she was happy and secure in her relationship,” a music industry source told People. “She had found true love and was able to live without fear. She had a group of friends in Switzerland, and truly loved the people she was around.”
Living privately in Switzerland and battling a number of health issues, Turner made rare public appearances in her final years. In 2019, she made her final public appearance at Tina, a Broadway musical about her life.
In 2021, she was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, accepting the honor in a pre-recorded video message. The final photo she posted on social media showed her watching a recent documentary about her life from her living room, writing that she was singing and dancing along.
We’ll miss Tina Turner, but we’re glad to see her final years were full of love and joy.
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