EXCLUSIVE: Tina Turner's Son Ike Jr. 'Hadn't Spoken to his Famous Mother in Years' Before His Tragic Death at Age 67
Ike Turner Jr. said his mom abandoned him after divorcing his dad.
Oct. 6 2025, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
Ike Turner Jr. had been estranged from his famous adoptive mother Tina Turner for decades, RadarOnline.com can reveal, before the singing legend died in 2023.
Ike Jr., who passed away over the weekend at age 67, claimed that his famous stepmother left him behind after getting a second chance at love with husband, Erwin Bach.
Ike and Tina Turner had a tumultuous marriage.
Tina became stepmother to her first husband Ike Sr.'s two sons, Ike Jr. and Michael, after adopting the boys when she wed their father in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1962. The husband-and-wife R&B duo had welcomed a son of their own, Ronnie, two years prior in 1960.
The stories of Ike Sr.'s abuse of both Tina and his son are widespread, and the What's Love Got to Do with It singer was finally able to break free of his control in 1978, when she divorced him and went on to find happiness with her second husband, Bach.
But when Tina found Bach, she apparently lost Ike Jr.
"I haven't talked to my mother since God knows when – probably around 2000. I don't think any of my brothers have talked to her in a long time either," Ike Jr. claimed in 2018. "My mother is living her life – she has a new husband and she's in Europe."
The heartbroken son would later claim his stepmother didn't "want to have anything to do with the past" and was eager to move on.
Tina Detailed Ike Sr.'s Abuse
The iconic singer was able to finally divorce him in 1978.
Before her death, Tina detailed the violent horrors she suffered while married to Ike Sr. in her autobiography, My Love Story. She called her ex a serial cheater who became violent as his drug addiction worsened.
"Sex with Ike had become an expression of hostility – a kind of rape – especially when it began or ended with a beating," she alleged in her book. "What had been ugly and hateful between us before became worse with every snort of cocaine."
Within the pages, Tina recounted some of her darkest times, detailing an instance when Ike Sr. allegedly threw hot coffee in her face, which gave her third-degree burns.
"He used my nose as a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I sang," she claimed about how it not only impacted her physical well-being, but also her career and mental health. "He broke my jaw. And I couldn't remember what it was like not to have a black eye."
Ike Sr.'s Abused His Son As Well
She found a new love with Erwin Bach
Ike Jr. echoed his stepmother's stories with tales of his own about his abusive father.
Following his parents' turbulent split, Ike Jr. briefly worked as Tina's sound engineer, though their professional collaboration was short-lived after Ike Sr. became furious and violent when he found out the two were working together.
"When my mother and father separated, he did not want me working with her," Ike Jr. previously confessed, revealing that in response, his father would allegedly "beat me in the head with a nickel-plated .45 pistol."
Ike Jr.'s Tragic Death
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'The Best' hitmaker died in 2023.
Ike Jr.'s death was confirmed by Tina's niece, Jacqueline Bullock, who shared that he passed away on Saturday, October 4, at a Los Angeles hospital following kidney failure.
Bullock said Ike Jr. had been battling severe heart issues for years, and his health had been in steady decline. He also suffered a stroke in early September.
The death of Ike Jr. comes just over two years after Tina's own passing. The "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" died peacefully at her home near Zurich, Switzerland, on May 24, 2023, at the age of 83.
She had battled high blood pressure, kidney disease, and intestinal cancer.
