Cher’s mother considered an abortion while she was pregnant with her.
The ‘Turn Back Time’ singer and her mother Georgia Holt sat down together for a tell-all chat on Lifetime show ‘Dear Mom, Love Cher’ and the 86 year old confessed there was a moment where she was close to terminating her pregnancy with Cher after being given an ultimatum.
Georgia’s own mom was just 13 when she gave birth in Arkansas and rather than choosing to support her pregnant child, she gave her the option of aborting the baby or returning to her husband, who she had recently left.
Speaking on the program, which aired last night (05.05.13), Georgia – who was 20 when she delivered Cher – said: "I can remember the chairs were chrome [in the clinic], and I was sweating. The sweat was just coming off of me on this chrome and when the door opened and it was my turn, I said, ‘Mother, I can’t do it.’ So, that’s how she’s here."
Although Cher, 66, was initially hesitant about sharing the tale with the world, but she thinks it is ultimately good for her and her mother to talk openly about what happened.
Actress-and-model Georgia had to put Cher in an orphanage at one point because she couldn’t afford to care for her and their temporary estrangement has always been a regret for Georgia.
Cher told the USA Today newspaper: "I heard the abortion story when I was a teenager. The orphanage story has been a touchy one for my mom her whole life, and she didn’t want to talk about it. I said, ‘Mom, why didn’t you just march in and take me?’
"She said, ‘I didn’t have the power. I didn’t have any money or a job, and the church was so strong. I’d go see you every day and you’d be crying. You don’t know what it was like.’ It was harder for women then.
"I thought, this could be tricky, But what’s anyone going to do to me now? So I come from a poor white trash background. It doesn’t make any difference."