Inside Tina Turner's Final Years Outside of the Spotlight: 'I'm Happy'

The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll lived out her final days in Switzerland with her husband, Erwin Bach.

The world is mourning the loss of Tina Turner following news of her death. She was 83.

The music legend's career spanned over five decades and while one of her last onstage appearances was at the opening of Tina - The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway in New York City in 2019, she'd been living a quiet life as a citizen of Switzerland with her husband, Erwin Bach, whom she married in 2013.

Three years ago, CBS News' Gayle King met Turner in Switzerland to discuss her memoir, My Love Story, and received some wisdom from the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.

"Is there anything in life, Tina Turner, that you want that you don't have?" King asked. 

"No," Turner said simply. "I have everything. When I sit at the Lake Zurich [in Switzerland], in the house that I have, I am so serene. I have no problems."

She added, "I had a very hard life that I didn't put blame on anything or anyone. I got through it, I lived through it with no blame and I'm happy."

The "What's Love Got to Do With It" singer -- born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee, in 1939 -- performed her last tour in 2009. "I got on the plane, I took a deep breathe and I said, 'It's over,'" she recalled to King of leaving the limelight. "I really felt like it's over and I'm glad it's over."

When King pointed out that her fans miss her, Turner sweetly replied, "That's OK. They can watch the videos. When I watch the videos, I'm jumping and moving! Enjoy those -- but I'm finished with it."

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013, Turner spoke about the benefits of growing older.

"I've done it," Turner, who was 73 at the time of the interview, exclaimed. "...You can get emotional when you get to this stage and can say, 'Even when it's time to leave and go to another planet, I'm excited about that because I'm curious.'"

She clarified, "I'm not excited to die, but I don't regret it when it's time for me. I've done what I came here to do. Now is pleasure. I've got great friends, I have a great man in my life, now I have a great husband, and I'm happy."

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