Cher Says the Estranged Wife of Son Elijah Blue Allman ‘Is Out to Get’ Money Amid Conservator Battle

It was a move of last resort. In late December, Cher filed for a conservatorship over the estate of her son Elijah Blue Allman, her only child with the late Gregg Allman, her husband from 1975 to 1979. After years of alcohol and drug addiction, the 47-year-old musician was in a rehab facility in Mexico, where he still resides. But the “Believe” singer isn’t convinced he can successfully live on his own. According to court documents, Cher is concerned Elijah is “substantially unable” to “manage his own financial resources” amid his struggles. Elijah’s estranged wife, Marieangela King, quickly hit back at the star, accusing her of “kidnapping” Elijah and tossing him into a shady lockdown facility without consulting her.

Now, it’s all-out war between the two women. “Cher never trusted Marieangela and thought she was a bad influence on her son from the beginning,” says a source, noting that the 77-year-old believes Marieangela, who wed Elijah in 2014, is ultimately out to get her hands on the sizable trust fund Gregg, a member of the Allman Brothers band, left when he died of liver cancer in 2017. “Meanwhile, Marieangela resents Cher’s intrusion and disrespect,” the insider exclusively tells In Touch. “There’s a good deal of friction there.”

Casting Blame

The tension has been ongoing. Marieangela, 36, claims she’s been “historically excluded” from decisions over Elijah’s care. In September 2023, her estranged husband was found unconscious outside of L.A.’s famed Chateau Marmont hotel, where he’d been living for six months — days later, local authorities took him to a California rehab after Cher reportedly staged an intervention. It wasn’t the first time. In court documents filed by Marieangela in December 2022, she said Cher had hired four security guards to “kidnap” Elijah from a New York City hotel where the couple were attempting to work out their differences the month prior, which Cher later denied.

Now Marieangela is questioning the facility the Oscar winner sent her son. In a statement, she said she supports Elijah’s sobriety, but claimed he was “being coerced” into taking part in “an alternative medicine regimen” in which he slept behind “a locked cage with six other individuals.” For her part, Cher’s court filing argues Marieangela isn’t fit to be conservator because her “tumultuous relationship” with Elijah “has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises.”

Ready to Fight

The source says Elijah is likely unaware of the battle between his mother and his wife. “His time and activities will be strictly regulated, and treatment centers have strict policies when it comes to communicating with anyone from the outside world,” the source explains. He’s been open about his demons in the past, admitting he began taking drugs at age 11. “I [was] just looking to escape,” he said in 2014, “and that’s when you turn to those kinds of drugs, you know, heroin and opiates.”

Cher is on a mission. “There have been times when she was at her wits’ end, but she never gave up on Elijah,” says the source of the star, who also shares Chaz Bono, 54, with late ex Sonny Bono. She’s not going to let anyone stop her — including Marieangela. “Everything Marieangela has done has only confirmed Cher’s suspicions that she’s bad news and is out to get Elijah’s money,” says the source. “Her hope is that once Marieangela is cut off from the gravy train, she’ll give up and go away.” Adds the source: “Cher adores Elijah and will do everything in her power to save him.”