Summary
- Cher's personal life has been tumultuous, with failed marriages and a complicated relationship with her son, Elijah.
- Cher's second husband, Gregg Allman, struggled with addiction, which ultimately led to their divorce.
- Cher's son, Elijah, has followed in his parents' footsteps as a musician and has faced his own battles with substance abuse. His wife recently accused Cher of trying to kidnap him.
Known as the "Goddess of Pop" and "Queen of Reinvention," Cher has remained an icon since the start of her career in 1965. She went from being one-half of the folk-rock duo Sonny & Cher with her husband, Sonny Bono to winning a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in 1987's Moonstruck.
Then in the '90s, her 22nd album, Believe also became a dance banger that still hits to this day. But despite the Mamma Mia star's colorful career, her personal life hasn't always been as successful. Recently, the wife of her son, Elijah Blue Allman (from her second marriage to Gregg Allman) accused Cher of hiring men to kidnap him. Here's the truth about the disturbing court-filed claim.
What Happened Between Cher And Her Second Husband Gregg Allman?
In early 1975, Cher and Gregg met in Los Angeles. In his memoir (via UCR), the latter recalled how the Burlesque star "smelled like I would imagine a mermaid would smell." However, the Allman Brothers Band pianist "didn't say hello or nothing at all, because I was so blinded by her," he said. Luckily, Cher, who was then on a date with record mogul David Geffen, ended up giving her number to Gregg.
They had a bad first date, but the two were determined to make it work, especially the rocker who had 21 drinks to keep up with the disco-dancing Cher. "I don't know how to dance, but I got drunk enough to where I did," he wrote.
"I danced my ass off," he continued. This is when disco was just taking off, so we did some dirty dancing. She had one drink, while I had my 21, of course. When we got back to her place, she took me out to her rose garden, and all the roses were just starting to bloom."
The two tied the knot on June 30, 1975, but Cher filed for divorce after nine days. She later revealed that Gregg's heroin and alcohol addiction was so out of control that when she called him to break it off, "he was so high he didn't even understand me," said the Strong Enough hitmaker. Still, she decided to give the marriage another try.
But in 1976, after Cher reunited with Sonny for a new Sonny and Cher Show, Gregg filed for divorce. "I thought I didn't fit in," he later said of adjusting to Cher's life in L.A. "I filed for divorce because I was afraid it would come from her first." Then Cher found out that she was pregnant with Elijah, which prompted Gregg to rekindle their relationship.
What ultimately ended things between them was a failed duet album, Two the Hard Way recorded under Allman and Woman in 1977. "There was no future for us because she has that constant paranoia of (my) going back to alcohol," Gregg said of that time. Soon after their split, Cher went on to date Kiss' Gene Simmons.
What Does Cher's Son Elijah Blue Allman Do?
Elijah followed in his parents' footsteps after high school. He was the singer and guitarist of the rock band Deadsy, which he started with his friends. He went by the stage name, P. Exeter Blue. They had three albums and even did a tour with Limp Bizkit.
Cher has always praised her son for his intelligence. She once said that growing up, "His mind is very expansive. He just dances to his own tune and doesn't really care." (via People)
In 2013, Elijah married fellow musician, Marieangela "Angie" King A.K.A. Queenie. After splitting in 2021, the two tried reconciling before Cher allegedly hired men to kidnap the former rocker, per Queenie's divorce filing.
What Happened Between Cher And Her Son Elijah Blue Allman?
Cher has been vocal about her complicated relationship with Elijah. During an appearance on Dr. Phil, she said: "He and I have such a bizarre relationship. We've had so many strange moments. I don't really understand him. Somehow Elijah and I kind of talk through osmosis." They even had their "first fight" when he was just nine months old.
The After All performer added that "his father was not there" and that he "never saw his dad." Fortunately, Elijah got to mend his relationship with Gregg before his passing in 2017. Now, Queenie is bringing up Cher's estranged relationship with Elijah, saying that the mother of two wasn't in favor of them getting back together.
In court documents filed by her, Mrs. Allman claimed that four men hired by Cher "removed" Elijah from their hotel room in New York in November 2022. She said they were celebrating their anniversary and "working out our marriage" back then, per BBC.
"After spending these 12 days together in New York, on 30 November 2022, the night of our wedding anniversary, four people came to our hotel room and removed [Elijah] from our room," she alleged. "I was told by one of the four men who took him that they were hired by [Elijah's] mother."
Cher's second son has notably struggled with substance abuse like his dad. Queenie said in the documents that he'd been at a medical facility since August 2022 but that she's "currently unaware of my husband's wellbeing or whereabouts" and that she's "very concerned and worried about him."
Fans were quick to side on Cher's intervention, with one Redditor saying: "Good on Cher for not enabling him! There are people I wish I could have done that to. Maybe it would have saved them." Others also branded Queenie as an "enabler" from whom Cher was "removing" her son.
