Tina Turner James Shaw/Shutterstock
Forever in her heart. Tina Turner’s second son, Ronnie Turner, has died. He was 62.
“Ronnie, you left the world far too early. In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son,” the “Proud Mary” singer, 83, wrote via Instagram on Friday, December 9, sharing a photo of herself with her eyes closed.
Tina and Ike — who divorced in 1978 — shared four children together prior to the talent scout’s December 2007 death. The twosome — who each had children from previous relationships — welcomed Ronnie in 1960, nearly two years before their nuptials. The former Tina and Ike Revue musicians went on to adopt one another’s sons: Craig, Ike Jr. and Michael. (The “Nutbush City Limits” singer shared Craig with ex Raymond Hill while Ike and Lorraine Taylor coparented sons Ike Jr. and Michael after their split.)
Tina Turner with son Ronnie. Bob Lucas/Globe Photos /ZUMA Wire Press/Splash News
As Tina mourned the death of Ronnie — who is also survived by wife Afida Turner — on Friday, she was supported by her famous friends. Naomi Campbell, Loni Love, Holly Robinson Peete and more stars shared their condolences via Instagram comments.
“I love you so much. I just want to give you the biggest hug. I’m so sorry. ❤️,” Adrienne Warren, who played Tina in her eponymous Broadway musical, replied on Friday.
The late actor’s wife also mourned Ronnie’s loss in her own Friday statement.
“MY GOD RONNIE TURNER, A TRUE ANGEL, HUGE SOUL, HIGHLY SPIRITUAL, MY HUSBAND, MY BEST FRIEND, MY BABY,” Afida wrote via Instagram, sharing throwback snaps of the couple, who wed in March 2007. “I DID THE BEST TO THE END THIS TIME I WAS NO ABLE TO SAVE YOU. … THIS IS A TRAGEDY U WITH YOUR BROTHER CRAIG AND YOUR FATHER IKE TURNER AND ALINE REST IN PARADISE 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️😭😭💔💔.”
Ronnie’s father, Ike, died in 2007 after a fatal drug overdose, while his older brother Craig died by suicide in July 2018. (Ronnie’s cause of death has not been confirmed.)
“My saddest moment as a mother,” the Grammy Award winner — who remarried longtime partner Erwin Bach in 2013 — wrote via Twitter after news broke of her eldest son’s death. “On Thursday, July 19, 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California. He was 59 when he died so tragically, but he will always be my baby.”
Us Weekly confirmed at the time that Craig was found dead in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Ronnie Turner Courtesy of Afida Turner/Instagram
“I still don’t know what took him to the edge because at that stage he had said to me that he had never met a woman that he felt that way about,” Tina told BBC News in October 2018, referring to Craig’s girlfriend prior to his death. “He was bringing her to meet me [for] his birthday in August. He had decorated his apartment that I bought him years ago. He had gotten a new job with a prominent real estate company in California, [which] he was very happy with.”
She added: “I think it was something with being alone. But when I think that, why didn’t he call the new girlfriend that give him the lift? 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. The last few times we talked, the conversations were different, and I didn’t know that until after the suicide.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
