"It broke my heart"— Cher says Sonny Bono blamed her after getting caught having an affair with his secretary
Cher's new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, details more about her first husband, singer-songwriter Sonny Bono. In the first volume of her two-part memoir, released on November 19, the legendary singer revealed that Bono allegedly cheated on her around the same time she had a miscarriage. She described the alleged affair as "cliche" because it was with his secretary. She stated:
"It was such a f**king cliche. It broke my heart, but you've got to give him an A for effort."
In her memoir, she noted that this occurred around 1967 when she was 21 years old and had been married to Sonny Bono for a couple of years since their wedding in 1964. It was reportedly her third miscarriage, which made her fearful about the possibility that she would never have another child.
The Believe singer wrote about being devastated while Sonny Bono put his time and energy into writing their next film, Chastity. She recalled him hiring a "secretary" to take dictation, describing the new hire as "young and blonde" and "that old chestnut" in her book.
However, one night, while getting some water downstairs, she noticed two figures but thought little of it until she heard "rustling and whispering," which set off alarm bells. She wrote in her memoir:
"At that point I knew something was wrong, but kept walking back toward our bedroom, when I saw the shadowy figures of Sonny helping his new assistant out the front door."
After the alleged cheating, Cher mentioned that she packed her things and went home to her mother. However, her mother told her something that she had been hearing for a while. She told the Believe singer that there had been stories about Bono cheating.
Also read: What is Cher's net worth?
Cher says that she was "overloaded with sadness" about Sonny Bono's cheating, which he blamed her for
Cher detailed in her memoir that while she was in her mother's house after the alleged cheating, Bono called to try to make amends. She described feeling "overloaded with sadness" upon discovering her husband's affair, but he told her something that her mother never forgave him for. During the alleged phone call, he reportedly tried to blame her for his cheating, saying:
"I wouldn't have had to look outside our marriage if I was s*xually satisfied."
Also read: Who is Mary Bono?
The Strong Enough singer also wrote in her memoir:
"[Our mutual friend admitted that] throughout the time we were together, Sonny had been with dancers, actresses, waitresses, and even hookers in our home and on the road."
While the Emmy-winning actress and iconic singer maintained that she had no idea about her husband's cheating and that she "couldn't imagine where he found the time" to cheat on her, it later became a subject of jokes among friends. She recalled discussing it with friends at her 29th birthday party, which Bono allegedly attended with one of his many girlfriends. She wrote:
"We figured that Paulette, Gee, and Chas's nanny, Linda, were the only women in our circle Sonny hasn't slept with."
Cher and Sonny Bono's divorce was finalized in 1975, but during the proceedings a year prior, she noted that the reason for their split was "involuntary servitude." She would later marry Gregg Allman in 1975.
The second volume of Cher's memoir, If I Could Turn Back Tome, is set to be released sometime in 2025.
