All Dear Sonny Bono was still needed – but for his part, it took the late singer-songwriter a little longer to fall in love with his famous ex-wife and collaborator.

In a new interview with CBS Sunday morningthe “If I Could Turn Back Time” musician gave her unfiltered version of the story of how he first met her. Sonny and Cher counterpart. “I thought it was like when Tony met Maria,” she said, recalling how she met him in a coffee shop in 1962. “I mean, everyone disappeared.”

“And it was just the two of us,” Cher continued. “But he didn’t love me. It wasn’t love at first sight. It was something. I’ve never felt it before.

But while the “Believe” artist was interested in Bono from the start, she says he preferred her friend. “He said, ‘You know, you can come and stay with me,'” she mused. “And I was like, ‘Okay, you know.’ And he said, “No, no, I don’t find you particularly attractive.” So, I was upset and happy at the same time.

Cher was 16 when she met Sonny, then 27, the couple eventually married in 1964 and rose to fame through their husband and wife band. They separated ten years later and finalized their divorce in 1975. The former politician died in a skiing accident in 1998, aged 62.

Speaking to CBS, Cher also disputed that their age gap ever seemed “weird.” “He was quite childish,” she said. “He must have been with me…because I wasn’t expecting anything.” I didn’t want money. I didn’t think about anything, you know. And all these other women his age wanted him to be an adult.

After the dissolution of Sonny & Cher, the Burlesque The star has had a successful solo career that was recently celebrated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted her into its 2024 class in October. “I have a love-hate relationship (with the Rock Hall),” she said. Billboard at the time. “Because I thought, ‘What do I have to do, you know, to be inducted into this place?’ What do you have to do to be part of it?’

Also in October, Cher led an all-female lineup at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. LISA from BLACKPINK also walked the runway, as did Tyla.

Cher is now set to release the first part of her autobiography, Dear: The MemoirsNovember 19. It should tell of her childhood and her tumultuous marriage to Bono, while the second volume is planned for 2025.

Watch the clip of Cher recounting her first memories with Sonny Bono below.