How Many Children Did Tina Turner and Ike Turner Have Together?
Music superstar Tina Turner married Ike Turner in the 1960s. During their relationship, the artists formed the Ike and Tina Revue. They also toured the country with hits such as “Proud Mary.” In 1978, Tina divorced Ike after years of abuse. However, the pair remained connected through their children. Some fans of the couple might wonder how many kids did the performers have. Here’s what we know.
How did Tina Turner and Ike Turner meet?
Tina was born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939. When she was a teenager, the singer met Ike at a Manhattan nightclub. At first, Ike and Tina were close friends. The artists bonded through music and were both in relationships with other people at the time. During their friendship, Tina was in a relationship with Ike’s bandmate, Raymond Hill.
After they met, Tina begged Ike to let her perform with his band Kings of Rhythm. Once he heard her sing, Ike allowed Tina to join him on tour. Eventually, the musical act shifted to the Ike and Tina Revue, and she was the lead singer.
Around the time of their first hit record, “A Fool in Love,” Tina and Ike’s relationship changed. The pair became lovers and eventually got married in 1962. According to USA Today, Tina wrote in her memoir, My Love Story, their marriage was the starting point of Ike’s physical, mental, and sexual abuse.
Ike and Tina Turner raised four children together
Before they got married, both Tina and Ike had children from previous relationships. The “I Don’t Wanna Fight” singer gave birth to her son, Craig Turner, on Aug. 29, 1958. She became pregnant with Craig during her relationship with Hill. Additionally, Turner shared two sons- Ike Turner, Jr and Ronnie Turner from his first marriage.
On Oct. 27, 1960, they welcomed their first child together, Ronnie Turner. When Ike and Tina tied the knot, the couple adopted each other’s sons and raised them Los Angeles. However, after years of enduring her husband’s abusive behavior, Tina left the relationship. After she escaped Ike, Tina wrote that he made her and their children’s lives insufferable. In one chapter, the singer noted that Ike once sent his “stooges” over to shoot up her friend’s home after giving him divorce papers.
“One night, we heard this loud ‘bang, bang, bang’ coming from outside. When we looked, we saw that the back window of Rhonda’s car had been blown out with bullets,” Tina wrote. “Another night, they actually shot into the house. We were so scared that Rhonda slept in the boys’ room, and I slept in the closet because the room had a skylight, and I was afraid there would be more shooting.”
Where are the former couple’s children today?
When Ike and Tina officially divorced, the singer continued to raise their four boys. According to The Sun, two of the pair’s sons went on to work in music. Ronnie is a bass player and toured with both of his parents’ bands. Ike Jr worked as a sound engineer and produced some of Ike’s music. Turner died of a cocaine overdose in 2007.
As for the pair’s two other sons, Michael and Craig tried to stay out of their parents’ spotlight. Craig worked in real estate for multiple years, while Michael’s career is unknown.
In 2018, Craig died by suicide at age 59. The following year, Tina opened up about her son’s death. Although she described him as a “shy” child, the singer admitted to noticing changes in his behavior before he died.
“He was an introverted person; he was very shy, so I didn’t know either, except now when I listen back to our last conversations, I notice a change,” Tina said in an interview with BBC News. “The last few times we talked, the conversations were different, and I didn’t know that until after the suicide.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
