When Tina Turner first locked eyes with Erwin Bach at the Düsseldorf Airport in 1985, her hands started shaking. She was 46, a global icon at the height of her Private Dancer comeback. He was 30, a German music executive sent by her manager to pick her up. Most people saw a superstar and a suit. Tina saw a "soul connection." Honestly, it’s the kind of story that sounds like a cheesy Hollywood script, but for them, it was the start of a 38-year reality.
There's a lot of noise about their relationship—the age gap, the wealth, the long wait to marry. But if you look at the actual facts of their life in Switzerland, the narrative shifts from a celebrity romance to a story of literal life and death.
The 27-Year Engagement That Wasn't
For nearly three decades, Erwin Bach and Tina Turner just... lived. No rings, no legal contracts, no "I dos." They moved to Switzerland in 1994, settling into a gorgeous estate called Chateau Algonquin on Lake Zurich.
Why wait so long? Tina had already been through the ringer with Ike Turner. She knew better than anyone that a marriage license doesn't guarantee love; sometimes, it just guarantees a cage. Erwin didn't push it. He famously said they didn't need symbols if they were "internally happy."
Then, in 2013, something changed. At 73, Tina finally walked down the aisle. It wasn't a traditional affair. She wore a green and black silk Armani gown covered in Swarovski crystals—a dress she’d seen at a fashion show in Beijing and just had to have. She even made the female guests wear white while she wore the color. It was her "Nirvana," a moment where she could finally breathe and say everything was good.
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The Sacrifice: More Than Just Romance
Three weeks after that wedding, the "good" started to crumble. Tina suffered a stroke. Then came intestinal cancer. Then, the big one: kidney failure.
By 2016, Tina’s kidneys were at 20 percent. She was looking at a life tethered to a dialysis machine, something she flat-out hated. She actually signed up for assisted suicide in Switzerland. She was ready to go.
That’s when Erwin Bach did something most people only talk about. He didn't just offer "support" or "thoughts and prayers." He gave her his kidney.
"He said he didn't want another woman, or another life," Tina later wrote.
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The surgery happened in April 2017. It wasn't a magic fix—Tina spent years dealing with her body trying to reject the organ—but it gave her those final years of peace. It’s a level of commitment that makes the "he's only with her for the fame" rumors look pretty ridiculous.
Life After the Queen: Where is Erwin Bach Now?
Since Tina passed away in May 2023 at the age of 83, Erwin has mostly stayed out of the spotlight. He inherited a significant portion of her estate, estimated at around $250 million, including their massive "Steinfels" estate in Stäfa, which they bought together in 2021 for roughly $70 million.
But recently, the 69-year-old has started to step back into the world. In late 2025 and early 2026, news broke that he has found a new partner, an American woman named Christina who lives near Gstaad. They reportedly met through mutual friends and bonded over their shared experiences with grief—she also lost her husband in 2023.
It’s a bit of a bittersweet chapter for fans, but Erwin has been open about it, telling Swiss media he's "grateful for a new love" and that he can finally be happy again. He’s still protective of his privacy, though. You won't see him on a reality show anytime soon.
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What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception? That Erwin was just a "trophy husband" or a younger man riding the coattails of a legend.
- He was successful on his own. As a managing director at EMI Germany, he worked with acts like Pink Floyd and Lenny Kravitz. He wasn't looking for a paycheck.
- He stayed through the "un-glamorous" years. Most of their time together wasn't spent on red carpets. It was spent in Swiss hospitals, dealing with the grueling reality of chronic illness.
- The citizenship move. Tina gave up her US citizenship to become Swiss, largely because that’s where the life they built together was rooted. It wasn't a tax dodge; it was a choice to belong to the place where she felt safest.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from the Bach-Turner Playbook
If you're looking for the "secret sauce" in their relationship, it wasn't the lakefront villas. It was the logistics of their loyalty.
- Autonomy matters: They lived together for 27 years before marrying. Don't let societal timelines dictate your relationship milestones.
- The "Dimming" Rule: Tina often said Erwin never tried to dim her light. If a partner is intimidated by your success, they aren't the one.
- Health is the ultimate test: Talk about the hard stuff—power of attorney, organ donation, end-of-life wishes. Tina and Erwin had these conversations long before they were "needed."
Erwin Bach didn't just love Tina Turner the superstar; he loved Anna Mae Bullock, the woman who was tired of singing and just wanted to ride a bicycle through Zurich. That’s the legacy he carries forward now.
Next Steps for You:
If you're interested in the deeper details of their daily life in Switzerland, you should check out Tina's 2020 memoir, Happiness Becomes You. It moves past the gossip and explains the Buddhist practices that kept them grounded during her final health battles. You might also want to look into the Show Your Kidneys Love initiative, a cause Tina championed in her final months to help others avoid the late-stage diagnosis she faced.