At 77, Cher Defends Relationship With Her Hot Boyfriend 40 Years Her Junior

May 03, 2023 by apost team

Cher has been an icon for the majority of her life thanks to her amazing talents as an actress and singer. As a member of the musical duo Sonny & Cher, Cher skyrocketed to pop stardom in the late 1960s and went on to achieve great success in the years following. She has struggled with heartache and hard times throughout her life but has always been a beacon of positivity and happiness for many people all over the world.

With plenty of drive and ambition, Cher worked hard at perfecting her skills as an entertainer. Her bold personality helped her meet influential people along the way, but it was ultimately her own talent that made her the star she still is today. 

Cher’s powerful and unique voice helped her stand out against other singers. The performer has since become the Goddess of Pop for being a pinnacle figure in the male-dominated entertainment industry. With a career spanning nearly six decades, it’s no surprise that this talented woman has received a plethora of awards and praise for her incredible work.

While the star's personal life was a big part of her rise to stardom after she and Sonny became well-known for their show, and by extension, their marriage, Cher's love life became much more under the radar following their split in 1975. 

Following a second marriage and a slew of famous boyfriends, love found Cher once more when she went public with a beau more than half her age in November 2022. Music producer Alexander Edwards and Cher met at Paris Fashion Week in October 2022, but it seems their age difference — despite being criticized by the public — is not something the songstress thinks about. Read on to learn more about Cher's younger partner.

Cher was born as Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946, in El Centro, California. She didn’t always live a lavish lifestyle, as Cher and her family struggled financially while the star was young. Before she was even a teenager, Cher had already shown a great interest in the arts and even produced her very own performance of the musical “Oklahoma!” in her early school years.

Cher was later enrolled at Montclair College Preparatory School, a private school in the Los Angeles neighborhood Encino. The upper-class environment of the school came as a shock to Cher. Although she was not the best student, Cher was still extremely intelligent and very creative, and her striking personality made her even more of a leading light among her classmates.

When she turned 16 years old, Cher dropped out of school, left home and moved to Los Angeles with a friend. She dedicated her life to her passion of becoming a star and began taking acting classes while working to support herself by dancing at small clubs. There, she was able to introduce herself to a litany of other performers as well as managers and talent agents. Her bold personality paid off when she met fellow performer Sonny Bono in November 1962.

Cher and Sonny grew closer and became good friends before turning their friendship into a romantic relationship. They got married in a hotel room in Mexico on Oct. 27, 1964. They went on to have one child together named Chaz Bono. Although the original intent for their musical partnership was to help launch Cher’s solo career, Cher had other plans and insisted on her new husband joining her along her musical journey. 

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The duo’s song “I Got You Babe” was a massive hit and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965. It also received great success all around the world. Originally performed by the British reggae-pop band UB40, Sonny & Cher made “I Got You Babe” their own and breathed new life into the beautiful song. Rolling Stone even listed the song as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

During the 1980s, Cher found great success in the film industry, landing both leading and supporting roles in a plethora of movies, including “Mask” and “Moonstruck.” The decade also breathed new life into her career with another smash hit record. In 1989, Cher released one of her most loved and iconic songs to date, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Serving as the lead single off her 19th album, “Heart of Stone,” the song found global success and praise and has been a fan favorite to see Cher perform on tours over the years.

Cher returned to the music scene in the late 1990s with her album “Believe.” The title track with the same name went on to become a massive hit all over the world and has continued to be an anthem of hope and positivity today.

Cher had one of the leading roles in the 2011 musical film “Burlesque,” which also starred Christina Aguilera and Stanley Tucci, her first musical film since “Good Times” in 1967. Being a mother in real life was brought into the film as she played a character who was very protective over the other dancers at the nightclub she worked at. 

Music from the film resonated with fans and even did well on the music charts. Cher’s song, “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” was a highlight of the movie and even went on to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs. 

In 2017, Cher was honored with the Billboard Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards and gave a memorable performance of “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time,” her first awards show performance in over 15 years. Showing her love for ABBA, Cher appeared in “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again” in 2018 and released a cover album with the appropriate title “Dancing Queen” in September 2018.

Spending so much time in the spotlight has led to much of her private life being made public, including her marriage to Sonny Bono and the life of their son Chaz Bono. A lesser-known part of Cher’s life is her second marriage and the birth of her second son, Elijah Blue Allman. His father was Gregg Allman, a musician, singer and songwriter. 

It’s clear that musical talents run in the family. While Elijah has also ventured into the entertainment industry, his life hasn’t been as publicized as the rest of his family, but he has still shown just how talented and handsome he is today.

As Cher has continued to stay a prominent figure in the spotlight, her personal life has continued to be talked about. She has become incredibly popular online in recent months due to her relationship with someone much younger than her.

Cher, 77, first confirmed her relationship with Edwards, 37, via her own social media account. Posting to Twitter in November 2022, the star shared a photo of Alexander, captioned simply with a love heart emoji.

Naturally, this got people talking as they became aware of Edwards' age and the massive age difference between him and Cher — a whopping 40 years! However, the songstress vehemently defended their union with a series of replies on the social media platform.

In the series of tweets, she confirmed that the couple met at Paris Fashion Week, as well as the fact he had been treating her very well. One fan wrote, "He better be treating you like the queen you are!" to which Cher replied, "LIKE A 👑"

Another follower asked if Cher's longtime best friend Paulette Howell had met Edwards yet, to which Cher replied, "No … Everyone in my family has," seemingly confirming the relationship is getting serious already.

Despite many of her fans' approval that if Cher is happy, they're happy, others weren't so kind and expressed their uncertainty about a relationship with such a big age gap. But Cher didn't seem bothered as she spoke directly to the naysayers:

"I’m Not Defending us. Haters are Gonna Hate … Doesn’ Matter That we’re Happy & Not Bothering Anyone."

She went even further and addressed the fact that many people were skeptical of Edwards and what he might gain from their relationship. She explained:

"As we All Know … I WASNT BORN YESTERDAY, & What I Know For Sure …There Are No Guarantees. Anytime you make a Choice You Take a Chance. I’ve Always Taken Chances … It’s WHO I Am"

Cher summed up how she feels about their age difference when she wrote:

"Love doesn't know math."

However, it seems that some of her fans' concerns aren't totally unfounded, considering Edwards' past. The music producer is the Vice President of the Artists and Repertoire department at Def Jam Records, which works with artists like Rihanna, Justin Bieber and more. However, he's best known for his previous relationship with Amber Rose, who is Kanye West's ex, and Edwards and Rose even share a son, Slash Electric Alexander Edwards, 3. 

But it seems that Edwards proved to be an unfaithful partner to Rose. In August 2022, the model accused her ex of cheating on her with 12 different women. What's more, Edwards admitted the charges himself.

Rose wrote on her Instagram:

"I'm tired of getting cheated on and being embarrassed behind the scenes. All 12 of y'all bums (the ones that I know of there's probably more) can have him. Y'all very much knew he was in a relationship with a baby and y'all decided to f*** him anyway. I saw all the texts and DM's. Y'all were well aware but y'all don't owe me any loyalty so it's whatever."

Edwards spoke up following the accusations and said while he knew he "could stop" cheating for an extended period of a "solid six months and just really like, deprive myself of my true nature for as long as I can take it," he added, "I don't want to live like that."

Despite his checkered past, Cher doesn't seem worried, as she said:

"I'm in love, not blinded by it."

It’s evident that Cher is happy no matter what anyone else has to say. And according to Us Weekly, Cher is well aware that people are criticizing her relationship with Edwards. An insider spoke to the outlet and said:

“Cher knows full well that there’s a lot of skepticism about this romance but she couldn’t care less. She’s reveling in the attention and saying that she and AE have something very special going on that’s made her feel more alive and sexier than ever.”

The insider continued:

“She’s always been drawn to younger guys, and this is by no means the first fun, no strings attached fling she’s had in recent years. The difference here is that this one feels special, which is why she felt confident to go public as a couple.”

Speaking with Kelly Clarkson on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Cher praised her beau. She admitted that “on paper,” their relationship may come across as “kind of ridiculous,” but added:

“In real life, we get along great. He’s fabulous, and I don’t give men qualities that they don’t deserve, you know? But he’s very … he’s very kind, he’s very smart, he’s very talented and he’s really funny. So, and I think he’s quite handsome.”

Cher also defended her choice to date someone so much younger as she explained that older men always seemed very intimidated by her, outside of her late ex-husband, Sonny. Cher even went as far as to say that she “would’ve never had a date” had younger men not shown an interest in her. 

She appreciated that younger men seemed to enjoy how funny she was and how she had shown a knack for wanting to do “outrageous” or “stupid things.”

While some people will most likely continue to criticize the singer’s relationship, many fans chimed in with words of support for Cher and Edwards. One person commented, “‘Im not gonna change my personality for anyone’ more wise words from the BRILLIANT Cher! I love her, my actual idol 🤍” Another said, “I agree with Cher, find the person who celebrates and loves you for who you are, no matter the age.”

However, in May 2023, TMZ reported that Cher and Edwards might not be as happy together as they have been coming across. According to the outlet, the pair were never engaged despite rumors floating around that they had plans to tie the knot. Cher had been gifted a large diamond ring during the holiday season in 2022. 

On top of that, it appeared that Cher and Edwards had also called it quits on the status of their relationship. The alleged breakup supposedly happened a few weeks prior to TMZ reporting on the matter, although the outlet did not state who was the one to instigate the fallout. 

However, neither Cher nor Edwards has released a statement or posted anything on social media to confirm or deny the rumors. In fact, some of Cher’s more recent Instagram posts included Edwards, and the two couldn’t have appeared more in love with each other.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Cher and Edwards and the status of their relationship.

What are your thoughts on Cher's boy-toy lover Alexander Edwards? What do you think of their 40-year age gap? Let us know, then pass this on to any Cher fans you know so they can weigh in too!