Meet Cher's Two Sons, Chaz And Elijah

This article includes discussion of pregnancy loss. 

Cher's motherhood journey hasn't been an easy one. During a 2010 chat with Parade, the music icon revealed that she had four miscarriages before finally welcoming her first child. "It's a spontaneous miscarriage, something that spontaneously aborts the fetus," Cher explained. "It's called an angry uterus. It took a long time for someone to tell me that that's what it was. It just starts to contract, for no reason." Following her third loss, pregnancy became an absolute "nightmare," particularly because well-wishers would approach her without realizing she had miscarried, creating an unbearable and highly emotional situation for her after she corrected them. 

Likewise, in a 2022 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cher admitted that her husband, Sonny Bono, found her "sobbing & rocking" on the floor after her first miscarriage. Naturally, the second miscarriage was also extremely painful. In fact, as the "Believe" hitmaker told Parade, when she got pregnant with her first child, Chaz Bono, doctors strongly advised Cher to remain in bed for the first trimester and to spend the majority of her time at home.

Ultimately, the living legend had a tough time bringing her first child into this world and even suffered a hemorrhage after being discharged. The "Strong Enough" hitmaker then welcomed her second child, Elijah Blue Allman, with her second husband, Gregg Allman. Eventually, Cher ended up having a strained relationship with both of her kids. Despite everything, she told Closer Weekly in 2017 that Elijah and Chaz "are absolutely the best thing in the world."

Cher and Sunny Bono welcomed their first child, Chaz Bono, on March 4, 1969. According to People, Cher once gushed that her son's arrival made her feel like she had a "new best friend." As the singer enthused, "It was just the most fun. It was like every day is Christmas." When Chaz, who was assigned female at birth, was around 18 years old, he came out as a lesbian to Cher, and she wasn't supportive. In Chaz's 2002 memoir "Family Outing," he disclosed that his mother cried after he broke the news, told him to move out of their home, and even sent him to a psychiatrist hoping that Chaz would change his orientation.

Eventually, Cher's eldest son realized he was actually transgender and he had gender-affirming surgery. Chaz offered some insight into the decision during an interview with Entertainment Tonight: "I was turning 40 and I thought it's now or never. I want to still feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a male body and not wait until I am an old man," per ABC News. Speaking to the Sunday Times, his famous mother confirmed that she encouraged Chaz to transition because she just wanted him to be happy. However, the "If I Could Turn Back Time" hitmaker struggled to wrap her head around the idea when the process initially started. 

Ultimately, Cher had a stunning transformation of her own, finally embracing her son wholeheartedly. In addition to being a staunch activist for the LGBTQIA+ community, Chaz has also dabbled in acting, picking up roles in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "American Horror Story." He has been in a relationship with Shara Blue Mathes since 2017, and they're reportedly engaged too.

On July 10, 1976, Cher and Gregg Allman's son, Elijah Blue Allman, came into this world. Elijah's life has been full of tragic details that started shortly after his birth as his parents' tumultuous marriage ended when Elijah was just two years old. In a 2014 chat with Entertainment Tonight, Elijah revealed that he started using drugs when he was 11 because it seemed like the norm for those surrounding him. After sadly acknowledging "I did have some close calls and some moments of really feeling at the edge of mortality," Elijah was proud to note that he had been clean and sober since 2008, per Us Weekly. 

However, in 2024, Cher filed for conservatorship over her youngest son, alleging that he was "currently unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues," as detailed in court documents obtained by People. But Elijah pushed back against the filing, and after a lot of back and forth, the Oscar winner conceded the conservatorship battle in September 2024. At the time, Elijah's legal team shared a statement with People, to clarify that Elijah and Cher were working on their sad relationship. 

Work-wise, Elijah followed in his parents' footsteps and became a musician. In addition to releasing music under his stage name P. Exeter Blue, he also formed a metal band called Deadsy. In 2013, Elijah married Mariangela King but he filed for divorce in 2021. However, in September 2023, King claimed that Cher had hired men to kidnap Elijah while they celebrated their anniversary in November 2022. Then, in January 2024, Us Weekly reported that the spouses had dismissed their divorce filings.