Tina Turner on the violent night her life changed forever

Tina Turner was trapped in an abusive marriage – until one extraordinary act of bravery that would change the course of her life.

Tina Turner details the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of husband Ike in the candid, career-spanning new documentary Tina, which debuts on Foxtel this Sunday.

Also featured in the doco is a pivotal moment in the singer’s life that’ll be familiar to fans who’ve previously watched her 1993 biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It: The night Tina fought back against Ike, before fleeing and starting a new life.

Tina and Ike had been worked together since the late 1950s, marrying in 1962. They toured the world as a successful musical duo – but behind the scenes, Tina was suffering “torture” at the hands of her abusive husband.

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Tina and Ike in 1975, a year before she left.

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On the night of July 1, 1976, Ike and Tina flew from Los Angeles to Dallas for a show. In the limo on the way to the hotel, Ike exploded, attacking her physically. It was a regular occurrence in their marriage – only this time, Tina, buoyed by her recent interest in Buddhism, fought back.

The couple arrived at the hotel both bruised and bloodied, and Ike went to bed. Tina knew it was now or never.

“I just took a chance, I said, ‘The way out is through the door,’ and while he was sleeping, I just left the hotel, went out the kitchen way and down to the freeway,” she told talk show host Jonathan Ross in 2017.

She ran across the freeway – narrowly avoiding being hit by a truck – and made it to the lobby of another nearby hotel. Still visibly injured from Ike’s latest attack and with only the clothes on her back, she pleaded her case to the hotel manager. She explained who she was and said that, while she had no money on her, if he gave her a room for the night she’d be able to pay him back.

The manager agreed – and Tina never returned to Ike.

“I walked out without anything and had to make it on my own for my family and everyone so I just went back to work for myself,” she told Ross.

“It was very difficult and dangerous because Ike was a violent person and at that point he was on drugs and very insecure. I had no money. I had no place to go,” she recalled.

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Tina’s career exploded after she left Ike. Picture: Getty

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A protracted court case followed, with Tina leaving the marriage with nothing but her stage name.

“It was just time to not take any more. It was constantly abusive, other things going on, there was no control, there was no freedom, it was just the same this, same this and the violence.

“You just get fed up and you say, ‘Life is not worth living if I’m going to stay in this situation.’”

Tina premieres express from the US on Sunday, March 28 at 11am AEDT, with a prime time encore at 8.30pm AEDT on Foxtel Movies Premiere channel and available On Demand

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