Cher Claims She Found Out Sonny Bono Was Cheating on Her with His Secretary After Suffering a Third Miscarriage

Mar. 15, 2025

Sonny Bono and Cher in Italy in 1966.Photo:Marcello Salustri/Mondadori via Getty

Marcello Salustri/Mondadori via Getty

Cheris reflecting on adifficult period in her marriagetoSonny Bono.

The legendary singer, 78, reveals in her new memoirCher: The Memoir, Part Onethat Bono allegedly cheated on her with his secretary around the time she was suffering a miscarriage.

Cher writes that around 1967, at a time when her and Bono’s career was floundering amid a changing musical landscape, she suffered her third miscarriage, which elevated her fears that she’d never be able to have a child.

The “Believe” singer, who was just 21 at the time, writes that she was devastated, and watched as her husband put his energy into writing their next movie, which was to be calledChastity.

Sonny Bono and Cher ca. 1972.CBS via Getty

To help him finish the script, Bono “hired a ‘secretary’ to take dictation, a woman who happened to be young and blond. That old chestnut,” Cher writes.

One night, the star woke up thirsty, and headed downstairs to get some water. Her house at the time had a wrought-iron gate in the den, and though Cher thought she noticed “two figures,” she didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep.

But before long, she writes, she heard “rustling and whispering,” and alarm bells went off.

“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,” she writes. “It was such a f—–g cliché. It broke my heart, but you’ve got to give him an A for effort.”

Cher writes that she headed back to bed, and cut Bono off when he tried to speak to her about it. She then packed her things and headed to her mother’s house — but mom only had tough love, as she told Cher that she’d been hearing similar stories about Bono for a while.

Cher and Chaz Bono at the Women’s March on Washington in 2017.Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The “Strong Enough” singer writes that she was “overloaded with sadness,” and that her mother never forgave Bono — especially after he rang the next morning and tried to blame his cheating on Cher.

The star writes that Bono did try to make amends, and used his “charm and persuasiveness” to win her over — but told her his tryst was her fault because she didn’t have enough sex with him.

Cher and Bono eventually welcomedson Chaz in 1969, the same year they legally married after having a ceremony in their bathroom five years earlier.

They ultimately separated in 1972 and filed for divorce two years later. Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998 at age 62.

Cher, meanwhile, went on to have a second child, son Elijah Blue Allman, with ex-husbandGregg Allmanin 1976.

Cher: The Memoir, Part Oneis available for purchase wherever books are sold.

source: people.com