It’s difficult to truly accept that the great Tina Turner has passed away.
As per reports, the (Simply) The Best singer died at her home in Switzerland on May 24, having faced numerous health issues over the past few years.
Needless to say, tributes have flooded in for the iconic singer, often referred to as the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Of course, such an outpouring of grief is only natural when all the trials and tribulations of Turner’s life – almost of all of which she was able to overcome – are considered.
After all, the Brownsville born singer’s meteoric rise to the top of the entertainment industry was far from a straightforward one. She first had to experience pain and suffering at the hands of her abusive ex-husband, Ike Turner, before beating the odds to become a titan of the music scene.
Following her split from Ike, Turner cut all ties as she sought to make a new life for herself. Unfortunately, reports claim that also meant a breakdown in the relationship between the singer and Ike’s children, whom Tina adopted after marrying their father.
These days, Ike Turner Jr., biological son of Ike Turner and adopted son of Tina Turner, is a Grammy-winning producer and musician. Yet his road to success – like Turner’s – was not a simple one by any means.
The relationship between his parents, Ike Turner and Lorraine Taylor, ended when he was still just a child, but a new motherly figure soon entered his life when his father began dating Tina Turner.
After the pair wed, Tina officially adopted Ike Turner Jr, becoming a stepmother to he and his brother, Michael.
Given that their father married six times, the siblings were no strangers to different women coming into their lives, but by all accounts it was Tina who became the one they most associated with being their mother.
As we all know now, of course, Ike and Tina’s marriage was destined to end in misery, with Tina suffering years of violence and abuse at the hands of her husband. Then, one day, after summoning her courage, she decided to flee, leaving Ike – and his children – behind.
For Ike Jr., Turner’s absence was a blow, and not only because she had helped a great deal in giving Jr. the tools he needed to follow his parents’ footsteps into the music industry.
Ike Jr. once said: “My father took me out of school at 13. I ended up running his recording studio plus going on the road with them. They made a lot of money on tour, and my father used to make me count it until my hands were grey.”
According to reports, after Turner left – 16 years after tying the knot with Ike Jr.’s father – her relationship with Ike Jr. and his brother Michael deteriorated until neither of the latter pair spoke with the woman who had spent so long as their stepmother.
Ike Jr. once revealed that the last time he spoke to his stepmother was around 2000, adding that he doubted his siblings had heard from her since then.
Ike Jr. himself went on to achieve professional success, however, with an album he produced for his father taking home a Grammy in 2007.
Turner herself relocated to Switzerland in 1995, eventually becoming a Swiss citizen shortly after marrying Erwin Bach in 2013. The two bought a home in Lake Zurich, where Tina lived until her passing earlier this week.
Rest in peace, Tina Turner.
Our thoughts go out to her loved ones at this difficult time. The world will never know a character quite like her again.
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