Cher’s Family Drama Over the Years: Alleged Kidnapping, Divorces, Relationships and More

Cher may have had a long and successful career — but not without some of her own personal drama.

The Grammy winner dropped out of high school in 1962 to focus on her music and soon after met Sonny Bono. After falling in love — and finding musical success together — the twosome tied the knot in 1964 and welcomed son Chaz Bono in 1969. After 11 years of marriage, the pair separated in 1975 amid reports of infidelity.

The "Believe" singer moved on with Gregg Allman and the pair wed in June 1975. One year later, they welcomed son Elijah Blue Allman. The twosome split in 1979 due to Gregg’s substance abuse issues. (Gregg died of liver cancer in 2017.)

“It was really intense, but it’s hard to have a marriage with someone who’s doing drugs,” Cher told the Daily Mail in a 2018 interview. “Drugs and I were just never meant to be together. I thought it was stupid and still do. I saw too many people where it ruined their lives. It ruined Gregory’s life.”

Keep scrolling to see more of Cher’s family drama:

Cher’s Divorce With Sonny Bono

The duo split in 1975 and Cher has since been open about their rocky romance. (Sonny died from injuries following a skiing accident in 1998 at the age of 62.)

“One woman, or even five, was not enough for him,” Cher told Parade in a 2010 interview. “I found all this out afterward. I asked him, ‘How did you manage the logistics?’ I was trusting and faithful with him. I’m not sure we should’ve ever been husband and wife.”

Following their divorce, Cher admitted that she had no money and had to start over from scratch.

“I thought I’d never climb out of that hole,” she told USA Today in September 2013. “I had no money, and I had to pay him $2 million. It took a long time. I worked my way into a spot in Las Vegas playing two shows a night. My managers were making more money than I was. I pride myself on still being here. A lot of people were gigantic, and then they were gone.”

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Son Elijah Allman’s Drug Addiction

Elijah admitted that he was just 11 years old when he began using drugs.

“I started with drugs around the same time that we all did, around 11,” he told Entertainment Tonight in February 2014, adding that he had been sober since 2008. “I mean, it’s just what you did, it’s just what everybody did. I [was] just looking to escape all the things in my past, and that’s when you turn to those kind of drugs, you know, heroin and opiates.”

In October 2023, Cher touched on her son’s drug abuse throughout the years.

“I’m not suffering from any problem that millions of people in the United States aren’t,” she told People at the time. “I’m a mother. This is my job — one way or another, to try to help my children. You do anything for your children. Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that’s what being a mother is. But it’s joy, even with heartache — mostly, when you think of your children, you just smile and you love them, and you try to be there for them.”

Cher Accused of Kidnapping Son Elijah

In September 2023, Cher’s daughter-in-law, Marieangela King, accused Cher in a court filing of trying to kidnap her adult son Elijah, who was 47 at the time.

In a declaration obtained by Us Weekly, King claimed that she and Elijah were in a hotel room in November 2022 when four people came and “removed” Elijah. She then alleged that she was “not allowed to see or speak to” Elijah, who was “currently in lockdown at a treatment facility that is undisclosed” to her, without having access to his phone. “I understand his family’s efforts to make sure he is well, and I want what is best for my husband,” she wrote in the documents, which were filed in December 2022.

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In new documents obtained by Us in October 2023, King requested to “conduct discovery of [Elijah’s] health records” as she claimed Cher “continues to interfere with his health management as well as his location and accessibility.”

Aside from Elijah’s health records, King also requested that her car, belongings and artwork be returned to her. “It was brought to my attention that the car and all these items are located at [his] mother, Cher’s, home in Malibu, which I no longer have access to,” she alleged. She further claims Cher has the deed to four pieces of Michael Jackson’s artwork that the singer “removed” from King’s room while her daughter-in-law performed at a concert in 2021.

After the accusations that she kidnapped her son, Cher told People in October 2023 that the “rumor is not true” and declined to comment further.

Cher and Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards’ Age Gap Romance

Cher and Edwards began dating in November 2022. Despite splitting for a brief period in May 2023, the couple revealed they were rekindling their romance in September 2023. Although the duo have a 40 year age gap, Cher told Extra in October 2023 that she was extremely happy with her romance.

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“I hate to talk about how happy I am, but no, we have a great time together,” she explained at the time. “We can talk [about] music. We can talk about everything. He’s got a great sense of humor, he’s got the cutest son in the world, ever. … We just get each other.”

Cher Reportedly Files for Conservatorship of Son Elijah

Cher filed for conservatorship of Elijah, per documents obtained by TMZ in December 2023, claiming that Elijah is “substantially unable to manage his own financial resources due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues.”

The documents expressed Cher’s concerns that assets Elijah is set to receive from his late father’s trust will be “spent on drugs,” putting his “life at risk.” Cher also claimed that Elijah’s estranged wife, Marieangela King, is not fit to be his conservator because “their tumultuous relationship has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises.”

In January 2024, Cher’s request for a temporary emergency conservatorship over her son was denied. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A. Uzcategui declined Cher’s petition in a hearing, ruling that a conservatorship isn’t urgently necessary because her son “has managed his finances,” “has an apartment” and “has remained drug-free” after submitting “several drug tests.”

After Cher filed a subpoena in February 2024 to gain access to Elijah’s medical records at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, he filed a motion the next month that the records be placed under a protective order.

Per the documents obtained by Us, Elijah filed the motion “in an effort to protect” his “physician-patient privileged and psychotherapist-patient privileged information.” The motion also protects Elijah “from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, and undue burden and expense” if his medical records were released to the public.

Elijah and his attorneys alleged that the subpoena was done “in bad faith” because it was ordered “knowing that the records requested cannot be produced in time” and they violate the “proposed conservatee’s right to privacy.” The filing also claimed that the subpoena was ordered “in the misuse of the discovery process.”

Cher and Elijah attended a private mediation session in May 2024, according to court documents obtained by Us. At the end of the session, they agreed to temporarily suspend the conservatorship and all related legal proceedings.