Tina Turner's life had a number of dizzying highs and tragic lows, as captured by the
1993 film "What's Love Got to Do with It" and the 2021 documentary "Tina." And for better or worse,
the musical icon's marriage to Ike Turner is an integral part of her story.
Born Anna Mae Bullock, the singer first met Ike when she was a teenager. Ike was
performing at the Club Manhattan with his band Kings of Rhythm and invited her up on stage
to sing B.B. King's "You Know I Love You." Although Tina was captivated by his voice,
she actually entered into a relationship with his bandmate Raymond Hill and had her first child.
Still, Ike and Tina had a strong musical connection. After forming the Ike and Tina
Turner Revue, the duo soon became romantically involved. In 1962,
they traveled to Mexico to get married. Tina was just 22. In her memoir "My Love Story,"
the soul legend described how she reluctantly went along with the hasty wedding, writing,
"[Arguing] would just make him mad, and that might
lead to a beating. I definitely didn't want a black eye on my wedding day."
Tina and Ike Turner had a string of hits throughout the '60s and '70s,
including "Proud Mary", but behind the scenes, she was suffering. In her memoir,
Tina described their sex life as "an expression of hostility." She added,
"He threw hot coffee in my face, giving me third-degree burns. He used my nose as
a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I
sang. He broke my jaw. And I couldn't remember what it was like not to have a black eye."
In 1968, Tina attempted suicide by taking 50 sleeping pills,
according to her book. She later denied that it was "a cry for help," writing,
"When I took those pills, I chose death, and I chose it honestly. I was unhappy when I woke up."
Eventually, the singer made her escape from a Dallas hotel in 1976. After Tina
filed for divorce and took her four sons with her,
Ike reportedly sent associates to shoot at the house she was staying in to intimidate her.
"I had an abusive life."
In the documentary "Tina," the singer admits:
"I started really seeing that I had to make a change. Divorce,
I got nothing. No money, no house. So I said, I'll just take my name."
When Tina left Ike Turner in 1976, life was anything but easy. Although she was out of
the awful situation with her ex-husband, it still left her mentally struggling. But the
artist knew she had to discuss the topic to move on and help others. In her 2021 documentary,
Tina spoke about the decision to do a tell-all interview with
People magazine in 1981 about her abusive marriage. She shared in the documentary,
"I wanted to stop people from thinking that Ike & Tina was so positive,
that we were such a great team. So I thought, if nothing else, at least people know."
Tina spoke about domestic abuse candidly at a time when it was normal for the topic
to be kept hush-hush, and it ended up helping many who were in a similar situation. However,
even as years passed, the memory of her abusive marriage still took a toll on Tina.
The documentary's filmmakers, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, spoke with Vanity Fair
about the internal issues Tina dealt with from the abusive marriage. They shared,
"Revisiting that time can be very traumatic for her. And it often times comes up in
dreams or nightmares, and it's like she's reliving that stuff for the first time
again. […] We were very aware that that is something that she is still dealing with."
Still, the musician continued to put on a brave face for the rest of the world until her passing.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224. You can also find
more information, resources, and support at www.thehotline.org.