PREVIEW

Cher considered suicide during Sonny Bono marriage. The 78-year-old music icon released the first part of her honest self-titled memoir on Tuesday, revealing details of what she called her "loveless marriage" to her musical partner. In the book, Cher opened up about how she considered jumping off a Las Vegas hotel balcony to escape her husband in 1972, explaining that she felt "trapped" as he controlled every aspect of her life. ”I was dizzy with loneliness. I saw how easy it would be to step over the edge and simply disappear.” The If I Could Turn Back Time hitmaker explained that she felt so "defeated" that night and didn't see another way out. ”For a few crazy minutes I couldn't imagine any other option. I did this five or six times, and each time I'd think about (their child) Chaz, about my mother (Georgia), about my sister (Georganne), about everybody and how things like this could make people who look up to me feel that it's a viable situation and I would step back inside.” Cher subsequently had an epiphany, writing, "I don't have to jump off. I can just leave him.” The Believe hitmaker also wrote that Sonny was so jealous he wouldn't let her wear perfume and took full control of her career and finances, adding that he wouldn't let her have her own bank account. She also revealed that Sonny once told her that he "seriously thought" of killing her towards the end of their marriage. Cher and Sonny had an unofficial wedding in 1964 and tied the knot officially in 1969. They later filed for divorce in 1974, and after a nasty custody battle over their only child together, Chaz, they divorced in 1975.
Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT