Curious about Cher’s family roots?
Time moves only forward, no exceptions – not even for Cher. She hits 80 on May 20. The spotlight stays bright. Into that glow steps her story, shaped by blood and bond. Her son Chaz stands close, part of her life’s rhythm. Another presence, Elijah, shares that space, though paths differ. Love still finds room, shown through Alexander Edwards, steady at her side. Each person adds shade to the full picture. Nothing grand about it, just real.
Do you believe in life after love Cher is turning 80?
On May 20, the artist marked a major birthday. That day held special meaning. A new chapter started quietly. Age brought its own rhythm. The moment passed without fanfare yet stayed vivid.
If turning back time were possible, she’d likely do it without hesitation. Aging? She can’t stand it, Cher said plainly to Gayle King on CBS Mornings in November. “You’re a decade younger than me, sweetheart,” she noted. Though the reporter suggested maturity grows with passing years, the singer shot back with a grin – “Nope, still clueless. Wisdom never showed up.”
Here’s one path: show her conclusions don’t hold up. True, few people collect an Emmy, an Oscar, a Grammy – Cher only needs a Tony now to join that circle. Her strength? Acting on instinct, never bending into someone else’s shape.
“I never reinvented myself, not one moment, whether I was popular or not popular,” Cher added. “But I’ve always been exactly who I am.”
She’s right where she wants to be, by his side. Talking about being with Alexander “AE” Edwards – a 40-year-old music executive – Cher still lights up like it’s new. About the difference in their ages? She said, “Not at all, honestly,” adding that he once told her something sweet: “Time moves forward, sure, yet somehow you feel more alive.”
Now that she’s stepping into a fresh ten-year stretch, it’s safe to say her style – and what hangs in her closet – won’t be shifting.
“It hasn’t hit yet,” Cher said on a September 2023 episode of Good Morning Britain. “I just can’t believe that I will be 80 at some point – sooner than I wish – and I will still be wearing my jeans, and I will still be wearing long hair and I will still be doing the same stuff I’ve always done.”
As she posed it to her Twitter followers on her birthday three years ago, “OK, Will Someone PLEASE Tell me…..When Will I Feel Old.”
Cher’s Mother Georgia Holt: Lessons in Resilience and Seven Marriages
Cher, though never short on stories about high-profile romances – like those with Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, or Val Kilmer – has always found joy in connection without needing rings or vows. Marriage, for her, simply never fit the picture, even when love did.
What stands out is that Georgia Holt, Cher’s mother, tied the knot seven times – yes, even remarried once to John Sarkisian, who happened to be both her first husband and Cher’s dad.
“It’s hard to make sense of, but getting a husband was the go-to thing for women of that generation,” the Oscar and Grammy winner wrote in 2024’s Cher: The Memoir, Part One. “It seems like Mom never quite lost that feeling that there was safety in marriage.”
Meanwhile, Cher recalled, “Even though all these stepfathers and suitors passed through our lives, I barely remember a man in the house.” So while Georgia’s life taught her eldest daughter how to be “resilient, independent and adaptable,”Cher added, “it also showed me that marriage was rarely all it was cracked up to be.”
A strong bond could still happen. Not necessarily with someone her own age. Younger worked better, sometimes. Georgia lived until 2022, reaching ninety-six. Her partner Craig Spencer came into her life much later. He was twenty-two years behind her in age. Their time together lasted forty-six years, right through to the end.
At first, things between Cher and Craig were rocky, she wrote. Still, watching her mom smile mattered more. A good connection brought warmth into their lives, even if they struggled early on
As time went by, Cher wrote, “we became good friends and still are.”
Husband Sonny Bono: The Bittersweet Rise and Fall of an Iconic Duo
Back in 1964, on October the 27th, Cher said yes at age eighteen to Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, who stood nine years older. Six short years brought an official split – yet somehow their shared name kept going strong.
Back when the show aired, crowds swarmed around TV sets just to catch those two bickering live. Laughter spiked every time someone poked fun at Sonny’s height – he stood five foot five, never missed a beat. Millions bought their music, forty million copies shifting without much fuss. Their bond on stage outlasted marriage papers torn apart in seventy-five. Jokes flew. Songs played. People kept watching anyway.
Though if she could turn back time, it’s unclear whether she would have married Sonny all over again, describing him in her memoir as growing increasingly controlling, unfaithful and, at times, abusive as he struggled with a painkiller addiction.
“I don’t know if it was love-hate, but it was rough,” Cher told USA Today in November 2024. “It was really, really rough.”
“I didn’t understand him,” Cher continued, “and I was hurt and angry, but it was more hurt because I couldn’t understand, why would you do this? And in the end, in that last year, I just thought, I don’t think I can do this much longer because it’s killing me.”
Back when Sonny tied the knot with Cher, he’d already split from Donna Rankin. Marriage didn’t stop there – two more followed later on. Running things in Palm Springs, California, took up his time as mayor between 1988 and 1992. After that chapter closed, voters sent him to Congress in 1995, standing for the state’s 44th district. Tragedy struck at age 62; skis gave way during an accident in 1998.
Son Chaz Bono: Advocacy, Acting, and Shifting Family Dynamics
Chaz Bono entered life on a cool early spring day in 1969. That same year, viewers first saw him during one of Sonny and Cher’s television episodes.
Music faded into the background once the album dropped in ’93. That year, Ceremony released a record featuring Chaz. Family conversations shifted when he came out at eighteen. Openness returned much later, in 2009, with words about starting his transition. Between those moments, activism grew stronger than sound ever did.
Into the light he came that year, guided by the film Becoming Chaz – each scene unfolding pieces of his journey. A quiet shift, yet loud in meaning.
That year he stepped into the spotlight through the film Becoming Chaz, which traced his personal path. A spot on Dancing With the Stars followed, where he placed seventh overall. His presence marked a quiet shift – visible not because of identity alone but for taking part like anyone else. Networks had rarely shown someone like him simply doing something regular. The moment stood out without announcing itself.
Books by Chaz have hit shelves alongside roles on screen, starting with American Horror Story: Roanoke, then shifting into AHS: Cult. Appearances followed in The Bold and the Beautiful along with episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Indie horror films became another space where his acting showed up, again and again.
Truth be told, Cher said those early days felt rocky once Chaz started transitioning. Not everyone saw it at first, but she stood by him anyway. A shift like that? It stirred things up, even in their circle. Hard words were spoken, though time smoothed some edges. Being famous didn’t make the confusion fade faster. What mattered most was showing up, differently than before. Her voice cracked a little recalling it now. Family bends, sometimes louder than expected.
Back when I phoned, hearing the past voicemail – Chaz’s earlier recording – made things especially hard, she said during a 2020 talk with CNN’s Christiana Amanpour. Still, even if someone changes, it doesn’t mean they vanish – you still have your kid, only now shaped differently.
Still, she showed up when he needed her. Back in 2016, Chaz mentioned to Oprah Winfrey their bond had grown strong – mother and son on solid ground. Chaz tied the knot with Shara Blue Mathes in March 2026 – someone he’s had around since high school days. This bond stands out, yet it isn’t the sole meaningful link shaping his world.
Cher Husband Gregg Allman: A Deep Love Tangled with Addiction
That summer, Cher tied the knot with Gregg Allman, a musician, just three days past her divorce from Bono becoming official.
That night they met, her presence caught his eye mid-set. A scribbled message found its way into her hand – number included – asking her to return tomorrow. She showed up again, because of that slip of paper. The whole thing started so quietly, just ink on cheap backstage stationery.
“Oh my God, I was so crazy about Gregory,” Cher told USA Today in 2024. “I loved him so much and he was so wonderful. He was this amazing man who happened to be a heroin addict.”
Just nine days after the wedding, she started divorce papers – Cher wrote about it herself. He entered rehab, though, and that brought them back together.
“He said he found it impossible to be all that he thought I wanted him to be,” Cher wrote. “I really didn’t want him to be anything but sober.”
By 1978, it was truly over. Cher had stayed close despite everything – love tangled with regret, she once said – but his unpredictable actions tipped the scale. She could not ignore what that meant for their children. Around him, safety felt uncertain. Her choice settled then: distance became necessary.
Cher was Gregg’s third wife and he married four more times before his death in 2017 at 69 from complications of liver cancer.
Cher’s Son Elijah Blue Allman: Music, Complex Struggles, and Motherly Devotion
Cher and Gregg had a short time together before welcoming their son, born July 10, 1976 – Elijah Skye Blue Allman entered the world then.
Though Elijah came into the world in L.A., Cher wrote about how early labor began unexpectedly during a stay in Hawaii – weeks before it should have. She had been there with Chaz and some companions when it happened, caught off guard by the timing. At that moment, Gregg was away, enrolled once more in rehabilitation.
Five weeks passed before she boarded a plane, doctors having slowed her labor just in time. Homebound now, she traveled with Gregg – no longer in care – and her OBGYN, who’d come all the way to Hawaii just to make sure things went smoothly on the flight back to California. When her due date slipped past without delivery, they started the birth process themselves.
Gregg chose the name Elijah “and I chose the rest,” Cher wrote, “because when I was in that Hawaiian hospital fighting to keep him, all I could see out of the window was blue sky.”
That year, Elijah stepped onto the stage alongside his mom’s group, fingers learning chords under bright lights. A camera caught him at thirteen, moving through scenes of a song called “If I Turn Back Time.” Music had already begun pulling him forward, just like it did for those who raised him.
He put out four records with his industrial rock group Deadsy, sharing stages at shows alongside bands like Thirty Seconds to Mars and Korn.
These days, life offstage feels heavy for Elijah, even though his wedding to Marieangela King of British band KING happened back in 2013.
Marieangela – who filed for divorce in 2021 – alleged in a 2023 court filing that Cher had arranged for Elijah to be kidnapped from a hotel room in 2022, while they were in the middle of working on their marriage.
Cher denied it without further comment. But, she told People that October, “I’m not suffering from any problem that millions of people in the United States aren’t. I’m a mother. This is my job – one way or another, to try to help my children. You do anything for your children. Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that’s what being a mother is.”
A judge turned down her request for control over Elijah’s money back in 2024. By 2025, officers arrived at a house in Landers, California, where someone was behaving strangely – inside, they discovered illegal substances. The 48-year-old ended up in the hospital following that incident, officials said.
“While it is true that Elijah has faced personal challenges in the past, one constant has been his unwavering commitment to sobriety and his loyalty to those he loves,” Marieangela said in a statement to People. “Like many, he continues to confront his inner struggles – but it is important to recognize that he does so from a place of strength, not defeat.”
Elijah was also arrested in February 2026 on charges of simple assault, criminal trespassing, criminal threatening and disorderly conduct, police told People.
Even if things change between them, Cher said she’ll still be on his side. Whatever happens, her support won’t fade. Right now, that loyalty remains steady. Through shifts or silence, she stands by him. Not because of promises, but simply because it feels right. For better or worse, he has her backing. No conditions attached, just quiet faith. That kind of care doesn’t need explanation. It stays, even when everything else moves.
Cher’s Boyfriend Alexander Edwards
Years ago, in 2022, Cher began spending time with Alexander “A.E.” Edwards, a musician working offstage, twenty years her junior. Though age gaps draw eyes, theirs unfolded quietly, far from flashing lights.
“On paper, it’s kind of ridiculous,” Cher said on The Kelly Clarkson Show that December. “But in real life, we get along great. He’s fabulous. And I don’t give men qualities that they don’t deserve.”
Perhaps it’s just too many women for an older man to keep up with, Cher being who she is.
“I have had a couple of boyfriends that were hovering around my age, but they just didn’t like me for some reason,” she told Kelly Clarkson. “And maybe younger men don’t care if you’re funny or outrageous and want to do stupid things, and you have a strong personality. I’m not giving up my personality for anybody, okay?”
They keep moving forward, even now.
“We just get each other,” Cher told Extra in October 2023. “We have the same kind of sense of humor. We just have a good time. He’s a little bit more, obviously, shy than I am. He’s kind of…a little bit reserved.”
Still, their starting places are bound to differ.
“Sometimes I’m talking to him,” Cher explained, “and he has no idea who I’m talking about.”
Sure, he knows unavoidable legends like Clark Gable, she said with a smile, “but most of my references, he’ll look at me and go, ‘I wasn’t born yet.’”
Happy, that’s how he put it, back in May 2024, caught by TMZ at the airport. Not much slips out from Edwards about personal stuff. The moment someone asked, though, he said they were good. Family life? Solid. His words: “We happy.” A quiet kind of joy, spoken fast, almost like an afterthought
The record producer has a son named Slash Edwards born in October 2019 with former partner Amber Rose
Discussing how she spent the holidays on Jimmy Kimmel Live in January, Cher said they had about 25 people over, including “kids that are really cute, and I have a cute little friend, a close friend Slash, who’s my boyfriend’s son and he’s really, really cute.”
