Why Cher's Son Elijah Was Grateful For Her Romances With Celebs Like Tom Cruise
Meeting your parent's new dating partners can be challenging for a child. However, things get a bit easier when the strangers in question are A-lister movie stars like Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. Such was the case for Elijah Blue Allman, the youngest son of legendary singer Cher. A rediscovered 2014 interview with Allman shows him discussing what it was like having Cher as a mom growing up, from the good, the bad, to late-night jams with rock royalty.
In the video, Allman asserted that his mother's love interests throughout the 1980s weren't a burden. They served as much-needed father figures — and superstar ones at that. "I was lucky to have a lot of those men who were my mom's boyfriends — from [Val] Kilmer to Tom Cruise," Allman said (via the Daily Mail).
The musician said his father and rock megastar Gregg Allman was often absent, and he was able to look at Cher's boyfriends for paternal guidance and support.
Cher's dating history shaped Elijah Blue Allman's career choice
In addition to the then-future "Top Gun" stars Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise, Cher's boyfriends of the 1980s included Rob Camilletti, a bagel baker and aspiring actor 18 years Cher's junior; movie producer Josh Donen; and Richie Sambora, the lead guitarist of Bon Jovi. Cher's younger son, Elijah Blue Allman, recalled jamming with Sambora while the Bon Jovi guitarist dated his mother.
"Richie and I would sit up all night playing guitar. He would play me some really pivotal things that shaped who I became as a musician," Allman said, per the Daily Mail. Even before he was playing with Bon Jovi's lead guitarist as a teenager, Allman had been gifted his first musical instrument by another one of his mother's exes. His first electric guitar, he explained to HuffPost in 2010, was from Kiss frontman Gene Simmons.
Cher and Greg Allman are undoubtedly musical icons in their own right, so it's not surprising that Allman would've inherited the same creative spark. However, Allman's band Deadsy did stray from his mother's pop genre (and even his father's Southern rock) into heavier rock subsets like nu metal, gothic rock, and darkwave — no doubt heavily influenced by the rock and roll legends he hung out with as a teen.
Elijah Blue Allman didn't always enjoy his mother's lifestyle
Despite the reputation of some of Cher's musical beaus, her son Elijah Blue Allman told Entertainment Tonight in 2014: "It wasn't like a sex, drugs, and rock and roll household, but you know there were a lot of big parties. I remember Andy Warhol coming over to the house and things like that. I didn't appreciate what that was at that time." Sex, drugs, and rock and roll household or not, Allman would later struggle with substance issues of his own.
Allman's addiction contributed to his rocky relationship with his mother. He explained in the 2014 unearthed interview that he didn't feel like his mother emotionally supported him throughout most of his life, especially following his Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment. The Deadsy musician gave his mom some grace, adding that he knew it was likely difficult for her to deal with such a severe illness — but, he reaffirmed, he had needed her to try anyway.
In 2022, Allman and his wife, Marieangela King, filed for divorce. In the divorce filings, King accused Cher of hiring a crew of four men to kidnap Allman from a New York City hotel room while she and Allman tried to rekindle their relationship. Cher told People in 2023 that the accusations were false. The Daily Mail reported in September 2023 that Allman checked into a Pasadena, California, rehab facility for his heroin addiction.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).