Tina Turner 'Turned Her Back' on Sons after Leaving Their Abusive Dad - Inside Their Rocky Relationship before Her Death

• Rock 'n' Roll legend Tina Turner has tragically passed away at 83 after her longtime battle with health complications.
• Apart from being globally known for her incredible voice and songs, she was infamously known for her tumultuous relationship with Ike Turner, with whom she had four sons.
• After moving to Switzerland, she lost contact with her sons, and their relationships became strained.

After enduring various health complications for some time, Tina Turner sadly passed away in her home in Switzerland on May 24, 2023. The legendary songstress was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and underwent surgery for a kidney transplant in 2017.

To say the late and great singer was iconic is somewhat of an understatement, as she paved the way as a formidable musician, which gave rise to many artists after her. Mick Jagger even revealed having taken inspiration from Turner's energetic and lively performances when creating his stage performance persona.

Originally having started in the music industry with her ex-husband Ike Turner, once she chose to go solo, she became a defining pop icon figure in the '80s. Her abusive relationship with Ike is a story that unfortunately became a part of music history. He repeatedly abused her for years until, one evening; she fled from his wrath with only 36 cents in her pocket.

Since the span of her career, all the way up until she retired and even after that, a plethora of works have been created about the star and her life. Three memoirs, a jukebox musical, a biopic, and a critically-acclaimed documentary, all based on her color-filled life, have been produced.

When news broke of her passing, fans worldwide were shocked and devastated. A statement crafted by her publicist, Bernard Doherty, read:

"Tina Turner, the 'Queen of Rock 'n' Roll,' has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zürich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model."

Who Are Tina Turner's Children?

During the course of her 16-year-long marriage to Ike, the iconic singer became a mom of four sons. She had her firstborn son, Raymond Craig, with her previous partner and saxophone player, Raymond Hill, in 1958, who was later adopted by Ike and changed his name to Craig Raymond Turner.

The songstress also adopted Ike's two sons, Ike Jr. and Michael, who Ike had with his previous partner, Loraine Taylor. Then in October 1960, the ex-couple welcomed their first and only biological child, Ronnie. According to her sons, though their mother adored all of them, she was also a strict disciplinarian who ensured that they did their chores and ate all their food.

Ike Jr. then went further to say that the only means of interaction his brothers received from their mom was her financial support to them through trust funds.

Turner's oldest son, Craig, had graduated high school by the time his parents divorced and went on to serve in the Navy and then became a real estate agent before tragically taking his own life in 2018. His mother had described him as a very emotional child whenever he would be subjected to his parents' abusive relationship.

Ike Jr. was raised by his stepmom since the age of 2 and worked as her sound engineer following her split from his father. Like both his parents, he pursued a career as a musician and won a Grammy with his father for a blues album. Unlike his older brother, Craig, Ike Jr. claimed that his stepmom stopped contacting him in 1985 and said he had gone without hearing from her for a decade.

Of the kids who took their parents' split the hardest, Michael reportedly struggled the most with their divorce. Outside of his desire to see his parents reunite, like his father, Michael has also had battles with addiction. According to his brother, Ike Jr., Michael has gone through an array of health complications and now uses a wheelchair, and though he also lost contact with the songstress, he was allegedly financially supported by her.

The youngest of the Turner clan, Ronnie, was the one to allegedly receive the most opportunities from the height of his parents' fame. However, as he grew into a young adult, he ran into trouble with the law and, according to his mother, took a path of self-destruction. After turning his life around, he also pursued a career in music and was the bass player of a band named Manufactured Funk before sadly passing from colon cancer.

Though Turner eventually lost contact with her sons, she never stopped loving or wanting the best for them. The singer reported that it was the saddest moment of her life as a mother when she had to scatter her son's ashes. Despite her admitting to the estranged relationships she shared with her sons, she chalked most of it up to the fact that, at heart, she is a loner:

"My kids and I are almost like brother and sister, except they respect me as a mother. I love them in a strange kind of way...They can always get to me, but I can't be surrounded by my family or anyone much [because] I'm a loner."

Why Did Tina Turner Have a Difficult Relationship with Her Sons?

Despite Turner having expressed her deep love for her sons, Ike Jr. had recently spoken out about how neither he nor his siblings (before two of them passed away) had any contact with her. Ike Jr. adamantly claimed that she had turned her back on her sons:

"I haven't talked to my mother since God knows when - probably around 2000 [and] I don't think any of my brothers have talked to her in a long time either. My mother is living her life - she has a new husband, and she's in Europe [and I think] she doesn't want to have anything to do with the past."

Ike Jr. then went further to say that the only means of interaction his brothers received from their mom was her financial support to them through trust funds. He also claimed that even during the years of being raised by both parents, he and his brothers were primarily raised by housekeepers, as their parents were hardly around.

Turner admitted to the estranged relationships she came to have with her sons. However, she refuted the narrative that she had purposely abandoned and forgotten about them and still maintained close ties with her eldest son, Craig before they both passed.

Turner's volatile ex-husband had even bashed her in the past, claiming that she was not a good mother, despite her account of him not supporting her to raise them for most of the time when they were still together. When speaking about the strained and distant relationships with her sons, in complete contrast to the account given by her son, Ike Jr., she revealed:

"[I] supported Ronnie well into his 20s, but they all recently got cut off. I'm still there for the boys, but [I won't] let them use me."

Turner's relationship with her sons, unfortunately, remained strained and estranged until her passing this year. Word is yet to be given about whether or not she got into contact with any of them before passing. However, according to several accounts and reports, she focused on her new life with her husband, Erwin Bach, in Switzerland during her final moments.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

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