Cher reveals it ‘wasn’t love at first sight’ for her with Sonny Bono

Music legend Cher has shared that her romance with singer-politician Sonny Bono didn’t start off with love at first sight.

Cher recently reflected on her and her late ex-husband’s love story, reports People magazine.

In an upcoming appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, the singer-songwriter sat down with Anthony Mason. Mason said, “In 1962, you meet Sonny in a coffee shop. He’s wearing a mohair suit and a mustard-colored shirt.”

Cher, with a smile on her face, replied, “With a white collar and Beatle boots, but they were called Cuban.”

When asked what she thought of Bono at that moment, Cher said, “I thought it was like when Tony met Maria. I mean, everybody disappeared,” referring to the iconic couple in West Side Story.

While it felt like the whole world stopped, Cher admitted, “He didn’t like me.” “It wasn’t love at first sight. It was something,” she said. “I never felt it before.”

As their story goes, then-16-year-old Cher accepted 27-year-old Bono’s offer to be his housekeeper and eventually entered into a romantic relationship with him.

“He liked my girlfriend,” Cher revealed. “When I had to go live with him, he said, ‘You know, you can come and stay with me.’ And I was like, ‘OK.’ And he went, ‘No, no. I don’t find you particularly attractive.’ So I was upset and happy at the same time.”

Mason asked if their 11-year age gap was an issue, and Cher said the singer was “kind of childish,” which allowed him to be “real” with her. “Because I didn’t expect anything. I didn’t want money. I didn’t think about anything, you know.”

The Believe singer said the women attempting to court Bono at the time “wanted him to be grown up.” Cher recalled a day when they “got a candle and we just watercolored all day long. We (were) trying to get it right. And I don’t think those ladies wanted to do that.”