The recently deceased 83-year-old Tina Turner lived a life characterized by several personal catastrophes that occurred in the background of her profession. She was abused for years while married to Ike Turner, which her oldest son Craig saw. Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock and eventually rose to fame as Tina Turner.
Turner had deep concerns about Craig’s emotional toll during this time. In 2005, Turner described what Craig went through in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey:
“They saw the black eyes. Ike’s children never reacted, but my oldest son, Craig, was a very emotional kid. He’d always look down in sadness. ‘One day, when Ike was fighting me, Craig knocked on the door and said, ‘Mother, are you all right?‘
I thought, ‘Oh, please, don’t beat me at home.’ I didn’t want my children to hear. I tried to have meals with the children, talk to them about life. But Ike had no sense of that. He’d always come home late from the studio. It was awful.”
A second unfortunate turn of events occurred in 2018 when Craig, then 59, committed suicide. Tina was stunned to get the terrible news because she knew how much Craig adored his new partner.
Following the passing of her son, Tina posted the following on Twitter:
“My saddest moment as a mother. On Thursday, July 19, 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California. He was fifty-nine when he died so tragically, but he will always be my baby.”
Turner also struggled with a number of medical conditions, including cancer, a stroke, and renal failure, which finally led to her demise. Despite these difficulties, she handled each one with the poise and tenacity that made her career. But a significant portion of her life was impacted by the sorrow of her son’s suicide.
Despite the fact that Tina’s first marriage tormented her for a very long time, her wedding to Erwin Bach in 2013 marked a fresh start. She experienced a small stroke during their honeymoon, and later received a cancer diagnosis.
The singer received the news along with the information that, without a kidney transplant, she would perish. Later, Tina registered to join Exit for assisted suicide.
Tina Turner discussed her beliefs about life and death in a 2018 interview with BBC News, which also covered her decision to join Exit:
“So I said, well if it’s time… I felt like I was in my late 70s; my mother died at 84, my sister died at 74, and I thought maybe this was my time. In Buddhism, you accept life and death. I was ready; I just thought it was my time.
Death is not a problem for me. I really don’t mind leaving.”
Thank goodness Tina Turner received a kidney donation from her husband, Erwin Bach. The singer claimed that after this, she was in better health and happy than ever.
Turner remarked as follows:
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m happier than I ever thought that life would become for me. So, that means that most of my hardships came while I was young and growing up. And in the last days when normally people suffer from old age and sickness, my happiness came. I’m really thoroughly happy.”
Turner had a positive outlook on the future and was not anticipating any health issues. She still believed that she would live for many years, despite an accident that left her with some damaged bones.
