Cher recalls her final visit with Tina Turner: 'She was laughing hysterically'
Cher's final visit with longtime friend Tina Turner was marked by laughter.
The "If I Could Turn Back Time" singer recalled the last time she saw Turner prior to her death on May 24 at the age of 83. Though the late Queen of Rock and Roll suffered a myriad of health problems, including intestinal cancer in 2016 and a stroke in 2013, Cher told PEOPLE in this week's issue that Turner was her usual fun-loving self during their final visit at her home in Switzerland.
"I got to see her. She was lying on the chaise and said, 'I'm tired,'" Cher, 77, recalled. "Then for two hours we were running around the house, and she was laughing hysterically. She just needed to talk and yell. That's the Tina that I loved. We had the best time and talked about the old times."
She also left that visit with a parting memento: a pair of Turner's high heels. "I'm not going to wear them," Cher said. "I just have them up in my closet."
Kevin Mazur/WireImage Tina Turner and Cher
Cher and Turner had a nearly five-decade friendship, which began when Turner appeared on Cher's eponymous solo variety show in 1975; the two duetted on several occasions, the most memorable being a performance of Shirley & Company's "Shame Shame Shame" in matching ensembles.
Turner died after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. Following her death, Cher remembered Turner as "one of the great artists in our generation."
WATCH: Cher reflects on her close friend Tina Turner's legendary life.
"There was no other person like her. There was no other person who could come close to who she was." pic.twitter.com/lqhuCeobwt— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 25, 2023
"There was no other person like her," Cher told MSNBC. "There was no other person who could even come close to who she was. As a woman, she gave you lots of strength. And I'm sure she's encouraged so many young people, but she gave me lots of strength sometimes, and I gave her lots of strength, too. I think we were perfect friends for each other, truthfully."
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