An adorable Sonny Bono and Cher moment has resurfaced from a 1987 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.
The duo, who divorced 12 years prior in 1975, reunited for the Nov. 13, 1987, show to discuss the intricacies of their past and present relationship.
Then — with encouragement from the audience — the “Baby Don’t Go” singers performed an impromptu duet of “I Got You Babe” … except Cher forgot the words mid-performance.
“Oh, that was my part!” Cher — who was 41 at the time — exclaimed several minutes into the song.
“It’s okay, you can just pick it up” Bono, then 52, could be heard saying.
The former professional partners, who had not performed together in 10 years, sang most of the song with their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling widely.
Prior to the performance, The Sonny & Cher Show stars sat down with Letterman to discuss their unconventional dynamic.
“We — Sonny and I — have a very strange relationship that no one will ever understand,” Cher explained, adding, “And I don’t think I even understand it myself.”
When speaking to the host earlier in the show, Bono delved into why he believed his marriage with Cher ultimately ended.
“It’s just so hard, I think, for two people to first be in love, and then be partners, and then be in show business together, and go into business together, and be equal in that business and — kind of — stay married,” he said, adding, “And then you lose the relationship, and suddenly, you’re a business.”
The Late Night reunion marked the last time the singers performed together in their lifetimes (Bono died following a skiing accident in 1998 at the age of 62).
Cher, now 78, recently reflected on her relationship with the songwriter and music producer while promoting her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part 1.
While appearing on CBS Sunday Morning on Nov. 17, the “Believe” singer recalled that it was not love at first sight for the duo.
“He didn’t like me,” Cher shared when recounting their first meeting in a coffee shop. “It wasn’t love at first sight,” she continued. “It was something — I never felt it before.”
The music legend shared that she needed a place to stay, and Bono agreed to let her live with him as platonic roommates — but the relationship eventually blossomed into more. She said that she believed it worked because he could be “real” with her.
“Because I didn’t expect anything. I didn’t want money. I didn’t think about anything, you know?” she added.
While the stars did not perform together again after the 1987 performance, Cher revealed that they were on good terms when he died.
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“One day he came into the kitchen at my house and said, ‘Cher, I want to apologize. I realized that I hurt you in so many ways, and I was wrong,’ ” she recalled while speaking to PEOPLE in 2023. “That went a long way for me.”
Bono and Cher share one child together, Chaz Bono, now 55.
Cher: The Memoir, Part 1 will be available on Nov. 19. A second installment is slated for release in 2025.
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