Tina Turner will forever be linked with Ike Turner, the husband who kickstarted her music
career. But it was the man the superstar singer met and married later in life,
Erwin Bach, who brought her true happiness.
Tina Turner was a beloved musician and serious hitmaker ever since she rose to
fame in the 1960s with Ike Turner. While Tina was idolized by millions as a singer,
she unfortunately never felt the same type of love in her personal life until her later years.
In the documentary "Tina," which premiered on HBO on March 27, 2021, she opened up about
never feeling love from her own mother, who abandoned her when she was a child.
"I was happy to show my mother what I did. I had a house, I had got a car,
and she said, 'No, I don't believe it. No, you're my daughter, no you didn't!'"
Tina also detailed her abusive relationship with Ike, from whom she separated in 1978.
"It wasn't a good life. The good did not balance the bad."
But things started to look up when Tina started dating Erwin
Bach in 1986. After almost 30 years together, they married in 2013. So,
who is the man that Tina credited with being the light of her life?
Bach is a German music producer who met Tina by chance in an airport in Germany,
and they were inseparable every year of her life after. Tina wrote of meeting Bach in
her 2020 self-help memoir "Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good,"
"I instantly felt an emotional connection. I listened to my heart. I left my comfort zone
and made it a priority to get to know Erwin. That simple first meeting led to a long,
beautiful relationship — and my one true marriage."
Bach donated his kidney to Tina in 2017, which Turner revealed in her book. Besides
that clear support of her physical health, Bach seemed to hit the right
notes for the singer in all aspects of her life. She wrote in "Happiness Becomes You,"
"Erwin, who is a force of nature in his own right,
has never been the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame. He shows
me that true love doesn't require the dimming of my light so that he can shine. On the contrary,
we are the light of each other's lives, and we want to shine as bright as we can, together."
Bach has also enjoyed quite a career of his own in music, which helped set him up for
life. Although not nearly as recognizable as Tina, Bach is well respected in the business,
working with musicians just as, if not more so, successful as his wife. Bach worked for
EMI Germany as a divisional managing director. And while he doesn't appear to be actively
working today, he can boast about having helped produce music for Pink Floyd and Lenny Kravitz,
among others. He is currently worth $200 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
With Tina's death on May 24, 2023, Bach seems to be the most likely beneficiary of her fortune,
which Celebrity Net Worth has valued at an additional $250 million. The singer's two
biological children passed away before her death. Tina also legally adopted two of Ike Turner's
children during their marriage. Ike Turner Jr. has claimed that Tina stopped prioritizing their
relationship. The terms of Turner's will are unknown as of the making of this video, although
Radar Online has reported that she's had plans in place since 2021 to prevent any family disputes.
Bach also hasn't yet released a statement about Tina Turner's death. But while she was alive,
Bach spoke very highly of his wife.
"It's love. It's something
we both have for each other. I always refer to it as an electrical charge."
Bach may also take comfort in knowing he contributed to one of Tina's greatest lessons:
how to live. After Tina died, Oprah Winfrey paid tribute to the star on Instagram,
revealing a bittersweet tidbit about her marriage and inner circle. Winfrey wrote,
"Once she claimed her freedom from years of domestic abuse, her life became a clarion
call for triumph. She once shared with me that when her time came to leave this earth,
she would not be afraid, but excited and curious. Because she had learned how to
LIVE surrounded by her beloved husband, Erwin, and friends. I am a better woman,
a better human because her life touched mine. She was indeed simply the best."