Cher has claimed that her ex-husband, Sonny Bono, swindled her out of her earnings.
The singer made the allegations to the New York Times, while promoting her new book, Cher: The Memoir.
"He took all my money," the 78-year-old said. "I just thought, 'We're husband and wife. Half the things are his, half the things are mine.' It didn't occur to me that there was another way."
Bono had set up a company called Cher Enterprises, owning 95% of the business, and giving the other 5% to his lawyer.
She continued, "To this day, I wish to God I could just ask, 'Son, at what point, during what day, did you go, 'Yeah, you know what? I'm going to take her money.'"
The couple met in 1961 when Cher was 16 and Bono was 27. She became his live-in housekeeper before they eventually became a couple. They married in 1964 and separated in 1972, before finally divorcing in 1975.
During their time together the pair released hit songs such as Baby Don't Go and I Got You Babe, before appearing on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show. They were nominated for two Grammy awards and sold over 40 million records.
In her book, Cher tells how fame changed her former husband, saying that he had a "my way or the highway" attitude, and often banned her from attending parties.
"I woke up one morning - early, like 5 - and I just thought, 'I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm going to leave him,' " she said. "I started to put into place a plan that was so dangerous that I don't know how I had the nerve to do it."
