LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. rock icon Tina Turner did not have much to say about the death of her former husband, Ike, in San Marcos, Calif., Wednesday.
Her representative issued a statement to TMZ.com that read: "Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made."
Tina started collaborating with Ike in 1956 and six years later married him.
Although the couple made enormously popular records like "River Deep-Mountain High," "I Want to Take You Higher" and the Grammy-winning "Proud Mary," Ike Turner's battle with drug addiction and his stormy personal relationship with Tina soon overshadowed their success.
She left him in 1976 and their tumultuous relationship was chronicled in her autobiography "I, Tina," and the 1993 film "What's Love Got to Do with It."
In his 2001 memoir, "Taking Back My Name," Ike Turner admitted there were "times when I punched her to the ground without thinking. But I never beat her."
