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AUCHEL, FRANCE: Tina Turner's daughter-in-law, Afida Turner, has revealed the immense heartbreak the music icon faced due to her two sons. Tina, as per Afida carried a heartache throughout her life, particularly in relation to her son Craig's suicide and her fears about her son Ronnie following in his father Ike Turner's abusive footsteps.
Alfida, who is from France, is also a musician like her mother-in-law and she was married to Ronnie Turner, Tina's son with ex-husband Ike. She was married to him for 16 years before he died in December 2022 after suffering from colon cancer.
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Tina Turner dead at 83: Singer's son Ronnie's cause of death revealed after he was found dead at 62
'He is going to be like his father'
In an interview with Daily Mail, Tina's fears about Ronnie turning out like his abusive father kept her on the edge, Afida said: "She was ill for a long time, but she was extraordinarily strong too. She was fighting for her life from 2017 until now. We knew how sick she was, but she was doing so well that this was not expected... [Tina] sometimes told me, 'You don't want to stay with him. He is going to be like his father.' It is pretty rare for a mother to say that."
When Ronnie was diagnosed with Colon cancer, Alfida said, Tina was already very sick. "It destroyed me. It traumatized me... Tina was already extremely sick [when Ronnie was diagnosed], she could not fly to Los Angeles and [care for him]. I had to do it all on my own... I believe it is the force of nature and endurance... The two of them had very strong genes," Alfida continued in the interview with the media outlet.
'Losing Craig was a heartache that Tina carried with her every day'
Tina also continued to live in grief after Craig's suicide, according to Afida, "losing Craig was a heartache that Tina carried with her every day - even as she battled her own ailing health. 'If you lose a child, or a loved one, you are going to cry every morning and every night.'" Craig Raymond, whom Tina shared with her ex-husband Raymond Hill, killed himself in 2018 at the age of 59.
However, Tina found strength in her Buddhist faith to cope with the heartache. According to the report, Tina found solace in her Buddhist faith and that's the only comfort. "They never had time to spend together, and now all three of them are together," remarked Afida.
Tina suffered through a series of debilitating illnesses over the years, including intestinal cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, and hypertension that resulted in a stroke and renal failure.
'But she was doing so well'
"She was ill for a long time, but she was extraordinarily strong too," Alfida said before adding "We knew how sick she was, but she was doing so well that this was not expected." Alfida further shared that "The news of Tina's death came as an even greater shock for the family because they are still dealing with their gut-wrenching grief over the loss of her son, Afida's late husband, Ronnie, who died from colon cancer in December 2022 - just five months before his mother passed away."
