Who is Erwin Bach? Tina Turner's second husband and the man who helped her find ... trends now
Tina Turner found true love with Erwin Bach after fleeing from her abusive first husband.
The pair enjoyed a loving relationship for 38 years until her death on Wednesday aged 83 following a long, unspecified illness.
She praised her second husband for helping her find happiness and said they had an instant connection from the moment they locked eyes inside Dusseldorf airport, Germany in 1985.
Bach, 16 years Turner's junior, was never intimidated by her fame, talent or success and was a constant by her side. He even donated his own kidney in April 2017 to her to save her life
The Queen of Rock 'N' Roll thanked him for teaching her how 'to love without giving up who I am' after her first marriage with Ike Turner was plagued with physical and emotional abuse.
Tina Turner found true love with Erwin Bach after fleeing from her abusive first husband: pictured celebrating her 50th birthday in November 1989 with Bach in London
The pair enjoyed a loving relationship for 38 years until her death on Wednesday aged 83 following a long, unspecified illness: Turner and her husband pictured at a Paris Fashion Week show in July 2018
She praised him for helping her find happiness and said it was love at first sight when they locked eyes inside Dusseldorf airport, Germany in 1985. Pictured: Turner and Bach at Giorgio Armani 40th Anniversary event in April 2015 in Milan
The iconic singer died at her home in Küsnach near Zurich, Switzerland and her representatives confirmed her death, saying: 'With her the world loses a music legend and role model.'
She is survived by two of her four sons - two preceded her in death - and her husband Bach, 67.
Turner met Bach, an executive with the European record label EMI, at Düsseldorf airport in 1985 when he was sent to greet her and the couple said it was love at first sight.
'Her manager Roger [Davies] asked me to pick up Tina,' Bach recalled in the 2021 HBO documentary Tina.
'So Roger said to me, "Tina, you ride with Erwin," and I wanted to go, "Yay!"'
Turner laughed and added: 'He was really so good-looking. My heart [was beating fast] and it means that a soul has met, and my hands were shaking.
'My hands were ice-cold. So this is what they call love at first sight, I thought. Oh my God, I am not ready for this.'
The pair began their relationship in the same year and Turner continued to work with EMI to distribute her music overseas.
'Falling in love with my husband, Erwin, was another exercise in leaving my comfort zone, of being open to the unexpected gifts that life has to offer,' she wrote in Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good.
'The day I first met Erwin, at an airport in Germany, I should have been too tired from my flight, too preoccupied with thoughts of my concert tour,' she added.
'But I did notice him, and I instantly felt an emotional connection. Even then, I could have ignored what I felt — I could have listened to the ghost voices in my head telling me that I didn't look good that day, or that I shouldn't be thinking about romance because it never ends well.
'Instead, I listened to my heart. I left my comfort zone and made it a priority to get to know Erwin. That simple first meeting led to a long, beautiful relationship — and my one true marriage.'
It took 27 years before Bach and Turner, 73 at the time, finally decided to tie the knot in a civil ceremony shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland in 2013.
Bach, 16 years Turner's junior, was never intimidated by her fame, talent or success and was a constant by her side. Pictured: Turner and Bach at the German media awards in February 2005
Turner thanked him for teaching her how 'to love without giving up who I am' after her first marriage with Ike Turner was plagued with physical and emotional abuse. Pictured: The couple at the London press night performance of 'Tina' in April 2018
Bach revealed he had asked Turner to marry him twice before when she turned 50. Pictured: The pair attend the opening night of 'Tina - The Tina Turner Musical' on November 07, 2019 in New York City
Days after their wedding, they threw a lavish star-studded party at their extravagant Swiss home where Oprah Winfrey and David Bowie were among the 120 guests.
Around 70,000 red and yellow roses from the Netherlands were used to decorate their house.
The wedding came as a surprise to many as the couple played down talks of marriage and looked to be happy just being boyfriend and girlfriend.
At the time, Turner said: 'We are married — we just haven't walked down the aisle, and until there's a need to, we probably won't.'
While Bach agreed ad said: 'We don't need a marriage to be together. Some people need that security thing, but I think if you're internally happy with your partner, you don't need symbols.'
In extracts of her memoir My Love Story, exclusively revealed to Dailymail.com, Turner said: ‘My wedding day could not have been more perfect or spectacular — and no one minded a bit that the bride was aged 73.
‘I’d organised the whole thing myself, and that included importing more than 100,000 roses to bedeck the grounds of our home in Switzerland.
‘As friends gathered, sipping champagne on that glorious day in July 2013, the air was filled with the most wonderful scent.’
She added: ‘It was only as we gathered for photographs that I started to feel a little funny. It must be the heat, I thought, or the dress — an Armani confection of green taffeta, black silk tulle and Swarovski crystals that was getting heavier by the minute.
