The husky-voiced singer behind one of the most streamed power ballads in history has died at 75, and her passing has pulled the curtain back on a marriage that was never quite what fans believed it to be.
Bonnie Tyler, born Gaynor Hopkins, passed away this week in a hospital in Portugal after months of treatment that began with an emergency surgery in May 2026.
Her husband of over five decades, Robert Sullivan, stood beside her through it all, even though their marriage once survived a scandal and went through a heartbreak the couple rarely spoke of.
Bonnie Tyler had a few secrets in her privileged life that most people never realized. Here’s a look of her circa 1970s. | Source: Facebook/Bonnie Tyler
But then again, she may have been more mysterious than people realize because barely anyone knew what she confessed earlier this year.
Tyler’s health crisis began on May 6, 2026, when herannounced she had been admitted to a hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she kept a home, for emergency intestinal surgery.
Bonnie had an emergency surgery a few months ago. In this photo, she posed for a portrait in 1977. | Source: Getty Images
The statement noted the procedure “went well” and that she was “recuperating,” while asking fans for patience during her recovery.
Two days later, on May 8, an , revealing that doctors had placed Tyler into a medically induced coma to aid her recovery. Her team thanked fans for the “incredible outpouring of love and well wishes,” while asking for privacy “at this difficult time.”
She remained ill and was placed in a coma in May 2026. In this photo, she posed for a portrait in 1980, in Madrid, Spain. | Source: Getty Images
By May 12, Tyler remained “seriously ill but stable in hospital in Faro,” according to a, with doctors said to be “still positive that she will make a full recovery.”
Her family used the same post to push back publicly on outside speculation, writing that they were “very disappointed at the many lurid and untrue rumours now circulating in the media” and clarifying that a man named Liberto Mealha “does not represent them in any way whatsoever and is not in contact with them regarding Bonnie.”
The family had to warn people against malicious speculation. In this photo, she posed in May 1986, in Hannover, Germany. | Source: Getty Images
Additionally, the statement asked media outlets “to cease to speculate or publish wild rumours, which simply serve to upset her family, friends, and many fans.”
For a while, there were no more updates, but all hope ended on July 9 when Tyler’s family shared a .
Sadly, after months of no news, the heartbreaking update came. In this photo, she relaxed with a drink after a performance circa 1990, in Germany. | Source: Getty Images
“Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for,” the post read. Her death is being described by many as a “tragedy.”
