Tina Turner and her son Ronnie were not on good terms at the time of his death in 2022.
Still, losing a son is never easy, and Ronnie's passing left a huge hole in the legendary
singer's heart.
Ronnie Turner, the son of Tina and Ike Turner, died in 2022.
According to TMZ, a San Fernando Valley resident called 911 on December 8 and said that Ronnie
was having difficulty breathing.
Eyewitnesses attempted to help him by performing CPR but it was too late.
Paramedics pronounced Ronnie dead at the scene.
He was 62.
Ronnie had previously been diagnosed with cancer, and according to a 2016 Radar Online
report, his health had deteriorated further due to dementia.
He also struggled with drug addiction and financial difficulties over the years.
Ronnie followed in his parents' musical footsteps.
He was a bass guitarist in his mother's band at one point and also performed with his father.
But sadly, Ronnie and Tina did not have a close relationship.
Still, when the news of Ronnie's death broke, Tina Turner wrote a tribute to her son on
Instagram.
The post read:
"Ronnie, you left the world far too early.
In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son."
On December 13, 2022, The Los Angeles County medical examiner revealed that Ronnie Turner
died from "complications from metastatic colon carcinoma."
According to Medical News Today, metastatic colon carcinoma is a late stage of colorectal
cancer that has spread to different parts of the body, like the liver.
Individuals diagnosed with this type of cancer have a "relative survival rate" of just 14%,
according to Medical News Today.
In addition to cancer, the report from the examiner also revealed that Ronnie had atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease.
The disease happens when plaque builds up inside arteries.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 370,000 people passed
away from coronary heart disease in 2021.
According to Radar Online, Ronnie's wife Afida Turner told a friend that she reached out
to Tina for financial help when Ronnie's health took a turn for the worse.
However, Turner reportedly refused and advised Afida to place Ronnie in a nursing home.
As Radar Online reports, Afida then told her friend,
"I can't understand why, woman to woman, Tina doesn't care about her son and his health!
I am very sad about this."
Tina and Ronnie had a complicated relationship that dated back all the way to the 1980s.
In a 1985 interview with Spin, Ike Turner spoke about Tina's estrangement from their
son.
He told the outlet:
"She's saying she never wanted him, that she didn't want to mother him.
That hurt me, man."
The "Proud Mary" singer also opened up about her relationship with Ronnie after Ike accused
her of being a "terrible" mother.
She told TV Week in 1989:
"Ronnie, he was put through private schools and given allowances and clothes and everything
you can give a kid."
"Keep in touch with mom?"
"A bit, yes.
For money."
Tina went on to describe Ronnie as "self-destructive," which resulted in her putting up boundaries.
She continued:
"You have to draw the line.
I keep an eye on him, and when he hits rock bottom, I chip in, but then I back off again.
I'm not going to be a bank for a nearly 30-year-old man."
However, in a 1997 interview with Larry King, Tina Turner revealed that she and her son
were on better terms.
She told King:
"At the end of the marriage, of course, there were a few problems with drugs with the youngest.
But other than that, I must say…"
"Are they all all right, now?"
"Yes, they're fine."
Furthermore, Tina's relationship with Ronnie also appeared to be on good terms more recently.
Afida Turner even posted a photo of them vacationing in the South of France in 2019.
However, Ronnie Turner was reportedly distraught over being left out of the 2021 HBO Max documentary
about his mother.
A family insider told Fox News,
"He's the only [biological] son of Ike and Tina ... It was very sad that Ronnie was not
interviewed and not shown playing with his mother."
The source also said that Tina was not speaking to Ronnie or her two other living sons when
the documentary premiered.
Unfortunately, it looks like the familial relationships among the Turners were often
turbulent up until Tina's death on May 24, 2023.