When Cher was married to Sonny Bono, he gave a whole new meaning to “I Got You Babe.”
The legendary diva — whose “Cher: The Memoir” will be released Tuesday — claims that, during the time she and her then-husband had a singing and TV partnership, she was duped out of her fair share of the earnings by Sonny.
“He took all my money,” Cher, 78, told the New York Times. “I just thought, ‘We’re husband and wife. Half the things are his, half the things are mine.’ It didn’t occur to me that there was another way.”
In fact, Bono had set up a company called Cher Enterprises of which he owned 95%, with the other 5% going to his lawyer.
During their marriage, which lasted from 1964 to 1975, Cher and Bono became a famous duo, with hit songs such as “The Beat Goes On” and the TV show “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” on CBS — and she still wrestles with his deception 26 years after his death.
“To this day, I wish to God I could just ask, ‘Son, at what point, during what day, did you go, ‘Yeah, you know what? I’m going to take her money.’ ”
But that wasn’t the only problem in their marriage. Cher said that fame changed Bono, and it became “my way or the highway” with him.
He wouldn’t allow her to socialize with band members, barred her from going to a Tupperware party held by Brian Wilson’s wife and even once burned her tennis clothes in the backyard.
Bono also cheated on Cher, blaming his infidelities on his wife, who ultimately reached her breaking point.
“I woke up one morning — early, like 5 — and I just thought, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m going to leave him,’ ” she said. “I started to put into place a plan that was so dangerous that I don’t know how I had the nerve to do it.”
Additionally, she told Bono she wanted to sleep with their guitar player. And she did just that.
The new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee was only 16 when she met Bono, then 27, at a coffee shop. After lying about her age, she moved in with him in exchange for cooking and cleaning.
“In my mind, I was thinking, ‘Yeah, OK, this old line,’ ” Cher writes in her memoir, part two of which is planned for next year. “But I must have had a look on my face because he shook his head and laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got twin beds,’ he said. With a grin he added, ‘And honestly, I don’t find you particularly attractive.’ ”
Looking back on it, Cher said, “It wasn’t a #MeToo moment because I lied to him.” But, she added, “I’m not forgiving him because there were some things he did that were ridiculous.”