Chaz Bono Calls Off Engagement
Chaz Bono, the controversial transgendered son of Cher, formerly a girl named Chastity, has announced that he and fiancée Jennifer Elia have separated.
In a statement to TMZ, Bono’s rep, Howard Bragman, stated that Bono and Elia “are no longer a couple” after dating for more than six years. The couple was featured on OWN Network’s reality show “Being Chaz,” which documented Bono’s highly controversial transition from female to male.
Bragman continued: “They [Bono and Elia] leave this relationship with great love, respect and affection toward one another. No further amplification will be forthcoming and they ask that you respect their privacy at this time.”
“Being Chaz” ended its first season last month with Bono proposing to Elia at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. Bono was part of the latest cast of “Dancing With the Stars” and told Piers Morgan that the two had been through a lot together.
Bono is the child of pop icon Cher and the late Sonny Bono, who was killed in a skiing accident in 1998. Chaz announced his transgender identity in “The Advocate,” a gay American magazine. He then wrote two books about his experience: “Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families” and “The End of Innocence.”
“Becoming Chaz,” a documentary on the transition process told through Bono’s personal experience debuted in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival and later on Oprah’s OWN Network.
Bono’s latest book, “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man” was released in May.
