On stage and in real life, Tina Turner and Ike Turner were a formidable pair. The singer, however, had never experienced marital pleasure before meeting her second partner, who was “so different” and gave her the “gift of life.”

The phenomenal vocalist Tina Turner, sometimes known as the “Queen of Rock and Roll,” became well-known in the 1950s. She met the talented Ike Turner at a Manhattan nightclub, and as a young, attractive singer, she matched his energy.

When they started performing and singing together as “Tina and Ike Turner,” the pair quickly rose to prominence.

The pair’s interest in each other grew beyond just making music. Despite Tina and Ike’s age difference of five years, they soon started dating. A man younger than her never stood in the way of their relationship for the optimistic powerhouse, who was enamored by her.

A few years later, she and Ike journeyed to Tijuana, Mexico, to exchange wedding vows. For the famous pair, this marked the beginning of another voyage.

What many believed to be a harmonious union of kindred minds ended up being the worst time for the Queen of Rock and Roll. Years after she and Ike separated, Tina admitted that their marriage had been marred by verbal and physical abuse.

She wrote in her book, “My Love Story,” that her ex-husband detested conflict of any kind. She thus received a beating whenever there was a small quarrel or he felt upset.

As the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Ike and Tina Turner had R&B success. 1966 or thereabouts. | Image source: Getty

This went on for over ten years. Tina, nevertheless, came to the conclusion that it would be best to leave the abusive marriage in 1976. The couple got divorced two years after they had been apart.

Fortunately, Tina had another opportunity to discover real love. This time, Erwin Bach, a music industry executive, held them.

When she first met Bach, she had no intention of getting into another relationship, but he persisted long enough that they ended up writing the most endearing love story.

Erwin’s “So Different” Tina Fell For Him First, But He Didn’t

Ike and Tina Turner, a husband-and-wife R&B team, pose for a picture in 1964. | Source: Getty Images

Then, in a rom-com-style tale, Tina, then 47, met the person she believed to be her prince charming. Prior to a performance, Bach was hired to pick her up from the airport.

When Tina first saw the EMI music executive, who was 30 at the time, his looks immediately struck her. The singer had just begun to speak when he realized he was unique. Her words are:

“He had the most attractive face. It was impossible to miss. My heart began to thump. It denotes the meeting of two souls. My hands began to tremble. Tina, you ride with Erwin, Roger remarked, and I immediately wanted to shout, “Yay!”

Erwin Bach and Tina Turner on July 31, 1999. | From Getty Pictures

Tina acknowledged that the environment was not one that ought to have stirred up her feelings. It would not have been possible for her to ignore her attraction to the music executive while worrying about her concert in Germany.

Even at that point, she continued, “I could have disregarded my feelings. I could have listened to the voices in my head that told me I didn’t look well that day or that I shouldn’t be thinking about romance because it never works out well. I decided to follow my heart instead. I set aside my comfort zone and gave getting to know Erwin top priority.

At Wembley Stadium in 1990, singer Tina Turner does a live performance. | Source: Getty Images

She suggested a future meeting in the US after she was assured of her attraction to Bach, and Bach accepted. They started dating soon after. Tina recalled the incident and said:

“Our relationship started because he was just so different, so relaxed, so at ease, and so unpretentious,” she said.

On April 17, 2018, in London, England, Erwin Bach and Tina Turner make their way to the press night performance of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” at the Aldwych Theatre. | From Getty Pictures

Bach, however, did not fall in love right away. However, Bach acknowledged that the cornerstone of their relationship was love for one another and that this was also the reason it flourished. He stated:

It is love. It’s a shared desire that we both share. It’s what I’ve always called an electrical charge. It’s still with me. I still feel that way even after I left her two hours ago. In my heart, it is. This makes me feel really warm within.

Engagement and Wedlock

After three years of serious dating, Bach chose to propose to her on her 50th birthday, one of her favorite days.

In November 1989 in London, singer Tina Turner posed with Erwin Bach to commemorate her 50th birthday. | From Getty Pictures

But Tina didn’t react the way he had anticipated. Instead, because she didn’t think he was dedicated, she gave a vague response. Then, remembering the proposal, she remarked:

I responded, ‘I don’t have an answer,’ It wasn’t a yes or a no. A marriage declares ownership. That “my” whatever was no longer something I wanted. That was enough for me.

Despite his skepticism, Bach never wavered in his love for the well-known singer, and almost three decades later, she said yes!

At their exquisitely furnished Swiss house, the couple was married in 2013. In addition to the long-term partners, family members and friends, including well-known figures like Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, joined them at the memorable occasion.

As was to be expected, Tina, the most stunning woman in the space, was dressed to the nines in an opulent Giorgio Amani gown adorned with Swarovski crystals.

For Tina, this was the ideal situation, and she was amazed by its accomplishment. The singer said the following regarding the ceremony:

“I aspired to excel in all I did. My yard and visitors deserved to be the best they possibly could be. They were, too.

She praised her husband for having self-confidence as well. He was described by the vocalist as:

“A force of nature in his own right, has never been in the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame.”

Transferring to Switzerland

The location of Tina’s wedding has been the couple’s residence for many years. They delighted in their lakeside house in Kuesnacht, a Zurich suburb. “Chateau Algonquin,” the singer’s home, had a “cartoon palace energy.”

“The home, which overlooks Lake Zurich, has ivy snaking up the walls, gardeners tending to the shrubs, a life-size two-legged horse sculpture suspended from a domed ceiling, a framed rendering of Turner as an Egyptian queen, [and] a room stuffed with gilded Louis XIV style sofas,” according to a NYT description of the residence.

Tina, who stopped performing in 2009, was blown away by the tranquility and quiet she experienced there. The singer claimed Switzerland as her home, despite having some family there. She fessed up:

“I am really content and at home in Switzerland. There isn’t a finer place to live, in my opinion.

The singer once talked openly about the factors that affected her decision to move. She claimed that her husband, who had been her boyfriend before, resided there and that Europe was more accepting of her music than the United States. She stated the following in a Larry King interview:

“In Europe, I’m as popular as Madonna. In certain regions, I’m as popular as the Rolling Stones.

The celebrated performer, who now holds Swiss citizenship, renounced her American citizenship in 2013 by signing the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Together, Through Thick And Thin

One of the top couples in the business was Bach and Tina. They continued to support one another after they got married and throughout their partnership. In fact, the native German showed himself to be a devoted spouse whose top concern was shielding his leading woman from as much harm as possible.

Through Tina’s health issues, Bach was there. She was given the choice between regular dialysis and a transplant after receiving a diagnosis of kidney cancer in 2016. Tina stated in her autobiography:

“Only a transplant would offer me a good chance at living a life that is close to normal. However, the likelihood of finding a kidney donor was slim.

Bach then did something amazing by offering to donate one of his kidneys to her. The vocalist of “Proud Mary” recalls that:

He declared that he didn’t want another life or lady. He then surprised me. He claimed he was willing to donate one of his kidneys to me.

Fortunately, the kidney transplant was successful, and she was appreciative of her boyfriend for giving her the “gift of life,” which she thought demonstrated how sincere their love story appeared to others.

Tina added that she was “grateful, overwhelmed, and relieved that we had survived this alive.” Unfortunately, the Queen of Rock and Roll lost her first child, Craig Turner, not long after this life-altering event.

She had a son named Craig from a previous union before she met Ike. Ike, though, took care of him. He tragically committed suicide in 2018.

The singer continued to talk about her son and referred to the experience as her “saddest” experience. Tina once posted a picture of Bach holding her while she was in mourning for the deceased.

“My saddest moment as a mother,” said the caption that went with the photo. When I gathered with family and friends to spread my son Craig Raymond Turner’s ashes off the California coast on Thursday, July 19, 2018, I said my final goodbyes to him. He was 59 years old when he unfortunately passed away, but he will always be my baby.

Bach was unwavering in his love for the singer even through their most trying times, refusing to allow her difficulties or fame stand in the way of their relationship.

Tina said in 2019 that through his letters, her longtime partner would serenade her with the finest words. She posted a cute photo of herself and Bach along with the words:

Isn’t it wonderful that Erwin, with whom I have been in a relationship for almost 30 years, still writes me love letters?

Only death could separate Bach and Tina, demonstrating that true love can exist outside of Hollywood blockbusters and romance books.

On May 24, 2023, Tina sadly died away. She was 83 years old. After a protracted illness, she passed away peacefully at home, according to her spokeswoman. Peace be with you, Tina.