Who Is Erwin Bach, Tina Turner's Widower? What to Know

Tina Turner spent nearly four decades with Erin Bach before her death in 2023.

It's been nearly six months since the loss of Tina Turner. While the rock icon will always be synonymous with her abusive ex-husband Ike Turner, the real love of her life was her second husband, Erwin Bach. They spent 37 years together, marrying in 2013 when Turner was 73. Despite vowing off marriage post her horrible marriage to Ike, Bach changed her mind. He'd asked her to marry him multiple times before she finally accepted, with Bach even getting approval from Oprah Winfrey, a close friend of Turner's. They settled in Switzerland in the mid-1990s, and eventually, Turner gave up her U.S. citizenship to be a permanent resident of Switzerland. 

In an interview with CBS Mornings, Winfrey spoke of her admiration for the way Bach loved the Queen of Rock N' Roll. "Erwin Bach is the most extraordinary person I've ever known because he loved her back to health and lifestyle. He literally wheeled her to live. And she's literally been through one health crisis after another….Erwin gave her his kidney," she explained of Tina's declining health issues in recent years. Through it all, Erwin was there. And Tina entrusted him more than anyone. 

Tina Turner und Lebensgefährte am Hockenheimring
(Photo: picture alliance)

Tina recalled meeting Bach for the first time in her HBO documentary, Tina. "He was [16 years] younger [than me]. He was 30 years old at the time and had the prettiest face. I mean, you cannot [describe] it. It was like insane. [I thought], 'Where did he come from?' He was really so good-looking. My heart [was beating fast] and it means that a soul has met, and my hands were shaking," Turner gushed in the film. 

They connected on music as well. Bach was an executive with the European record label EMI. He worked with a roster of artists, including Queen and Paul McCartney. EMI distributed Tina's music overseas.

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