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From famous musicians Sonny Bono, Gregg Allman, Gene Simmons, and Richie Sambora, to legendary actors Warren Beatty, Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise, to many other unrecognizable men, Cher has romanced a long list of guys. But of them, the singer revealed that she had truly loved only two men. So who are the two lucky men?
You might think singer-songwriter Sonny Bono, her first husband of 11 years, must make the cut, given their long time together. The couple stormed to the top of the hit parade with songs including I Got You Babe and Baby Don't Go. After their split, Cher continued to rack up chart successes with hits such as If I Could Turn Back Time and Believe.
Also a talented actor, Cher has burned up the big screen in Mask, Burlesque, and Mermaids and even won the Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck. With hits spanning decades, the singer and actor is undoubtedly a bona fide star of stage and screen. Alongside her stellar career, her personal life is no less fascinating than the storyline from any of her movies.
Cher's colorful and eventful private life began in her mid-teens when she moved to Los Angeles for the bright lights. As young as she was, Cher had made up her mind to be a star. She paid her way dancing and acting and also took it upon herself to get noticed by someone in Tinseltown. But it was not until meeting Sonny Bono that Cher managed to change her life.
It was in the early 60s that Bono noticed young Cher. He introduced the future star to record producer Phil Spector and took her under his wing. Cher met her big break when Bono gave her backing vocals on hits such as Be My Baby and You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling. And in 1964, the pair tied the knot, despite an 11-year age gap.
One year after their wedding, the singing couple hit the big time with the iconic tune, I Got You Babe. As the decade ticked over into the 70s, Bono and Cher welcomed their son Chaz into the world. Meanwhile, they continued their bid for Hollywood domination with the TV show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which even won Cher a Best Actress Golden Globe.
As Cher's career was thriving, her marriage, unfortunately, began to collapse. In 1974, Bono filed for divorce, which was confirmed the following year. The split left Cher worse than broke, as she got nothing from their partnership. "We worked side by side for 11 years, and I ended up with nothing," Cher told The Guardian.
Even worse, "I had to give him $2m on top because I didn't carry out the contract for Sonny and Cher as a couple," Cher added. "It never occurred to me that I would be charged with the contracts we didn't fulfill." Well, fortunately, Cher had a way back: a solo career. And all her early experiences became instrumental in standing her in good stead later on.
Romantically, the singer didn't stay single for long. Cher quickly began dating record man David Geffen, who helped her break free professionally from Bono. Just days after her uncoupling with her ex-husband, Cher got married again. However, her new husband was not Geffen but Gregg Allman, the famous musician of the Allman Brothers Band. So why not Geffen?
The real reason was revealed many years later that Geffen was gay. Anyway, Cher believed that their relationship had been legitimate. "I was the first person to share [David's] bed and to share his life. People don't believe that, or they don't want to believe it, or they don't understand how it could be. But we were really crazy about each other," the singer explained in a biography.
Unfortunately again, Cher's romance with Allman hit the skids soon after. A mere 9 days after their wedding, the singer filed for divorce because she could not put up with her new husband's addiction problems anymore. Interestingly, they were reconciled a few weeks later and even welcomed their son Elijah into the world the following year.
At this time, Cher's television career continued to flourish with The Sonny & Cher Show, a follow-up from the earlier show with her ex-husband. Somehow, her divorce from Bono was often riffed about on screen. Plus, the relationship with her new husband also became the topic of quips. These troubles led to the show's cancellation and the new couple's split in 1977.
But nothing can keep a good woman down. Cher soon began a relationship with rock wildman Gene Simmons of Kiss. But this time, she didn't get hitched but split with Gene after some time. Even so, the performer quickly bounced back both professionally and personally. Her career saw a huge upturn in the 80s. Thereafter she got numerous tattoos, had cosmetic surgery, and even more lovers.
Over the following 20 years, Cher's list of admirers reads like a Who's Who of the rich and famous. They included actors Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, musicians Richie Sambora and Eric Clapton, and hockey player Ron Duguay. However, Cher's first romance was with Warren Beatty when she was just 16. Funnily enough, the two became involved because of a fender bender.
Then, many years and many men after Beatty, Cher revealed her crop of romantic conquests in an interview with the Guardian. That's also when she disclosed the only two men that she had truly loved. As touched upon previously, even her first husband who had crafted her early success didn't make the cut. Then, who had truly stolen Cher's heart?
Wonder no more. Cher's second husband, Gregg Allman, was one of the two loves of her life. "Gregory was a special man," Cher admitted. "He never called me Cher," and she also revealed that his nickname for her was "Chooch." The other true love was a gloriously unrecognizable young guy known as "Bagel Boy."
The young Bagel Boy's name was Robert Camilletti, who worked in a bagel bar. They dated in the 1980s when Cher was 40 and Camilletti was just 22. She explained that part of Camilletti's attraction was his dependability, saying to The Guardian, he "was like a rock." Cher also talked frankly about her other lovers.
Cher described Tom Cruise as one of her top five lovers, and her passionate tryst with Cruise's Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer was depicted by her like this, "When we kissed, I thought my head would shoot right off my body." As for Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, Cher said he was "one of the most underrated singers ever."
Cher sees an overwhelming success in romance, but she actually struggles with relationships. "The problem I have with all the boyfriends lately is that I don't want to go any place with them. You can't keep a relationship going in this kind of goldfish bowl, where everything you do and every picture you have taken will be on Instagram," she told the Daily Mail.
All in all, it's safe to say Cher is a legend both on stage and off. Now in her seventies, the singer-actress devotes her spare time to various good causes, instead of dating. With a cool net worth of $360 million, she has established her own charitable organization, Cher Cares, to help those in need.
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