When Cher showed up at her son Chaz Bono’s wedding in March 2026 wearing a star-patterned sweatsuit and a massive diamond ring on her left hand, the story that took over was not the wedding. Page Six, the Daily Mail, and a string of outlets turned the event into a guessing game about whether the 79-year-old singer had secretly married her boyfriend Alexander Edwards, 39. Page Six later confirmed that Cher and Edwards are neither married nor engaged—but by then the headline had already done its job: an older woman’s jewellery had become gossip fuel while the actual wedding and the people in it were relegated to the background.
Cher’s ring became the story while her son’s wedding was treated as a footnote
Chaz Bono married longtime partner Shara Blue Mathes at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in March 2026. The couple had been together since 2017; in interviews, Bono has called Mathes the love of his life. As reported by Page Six, Cher attended in casual dress—a star-patterned sweatsuit and sneakers—and the large ring and band on her left ring finger immediately drew attention. Outlets including Page Six, the Daily Mail, AOL, and The Blast ran stories speculating that Cher had married Edwards, or was engaged, or was sending a message. Representatives for Cher and Edwards did not immediately respond to inquiries about the ring; Page Six exclusively confirmed that the couple are neither married nor engaged.
The pattern is familiar. In late 2022, when Cher and Edwards went public, the 40-year age gap became the focus of coverage. Edwards, a music executive who has worked as Vice President of A&R at Def Jam and with Sony Music Publishing, is routinely described in relation to Cher rather than on his own terms. When Edwards gave Cher a teardrop diamond as a “best Christmas gift” in 2022, she had to clarify that it was for a different finger to tamp down engagement rumours. In December 2025, reports surfaced that Cher planned to marry Edwards before her 80th birthday; her spokesperson quickly denied it, saying there are “absolutely no plans for a wedding in her future.” Each time, the framing is the same: the older woman’s relationship is a spectacle, and the partner is a prop in the narrative.
Actress Sienna Miller, who has spoken publicly about the media’s treatment of her relationship with a younger man, has called such coverage “fetishised” and rooted in “misogynistic and patriarchal” attitudes. As reported by the BBC and E! Online, Miller has argued that older women with younger partners are judged and sensationalised in ways that older men in the reverse situation are not. Tabloids use labels like “cougar” and “toyboy” and frame these relationships as either punchlines or desperate choices. The same dynamic applies to Cher: the ring at Chaz Bono’s wedding was never just a ring; it was a hook for speculation about an older woman’s love life, while the wedding itself and the couple getting married were secondary.
What This Actually Means
The frenzy over Cher’s ring is a reminder that tabloid culture still treats older women’s romantic lives as public property and their partners as footnotes. Alexander Edwards is a music executive with a defined career; in most of these stories he appears only as “Cher’s boyfriend” or “AE,” the man who might or might not have married her. The real event—Chaz Bono and Shara Blue Mathes’s wedding—was overshadowed by a piece of jewellery and the perennial question of whether a famous older woman is “really” in a serious relationship. Until that calculus changes, the same cycle will repeat: the woman’s body and choices become gossip fuel, and the people and milestones that matter to her are pushed to the margins.
Who is Alexander Edwards?
Alexander “AE” Edwards is a music executive who has served as Vice President of A&R at Def Jam Recordings and worked with Sony Music Publishing. He is closely associated with rapper Tyga and serves as president of the label Last Kings Records. Edwards has a young son, Slash, with model Amber Rose. He and Cher met at Paris Fashion Week in September 2022 and went public with their relationship in November 2022. Cher has defended their 40-year age gap in interviews, saying that love “doesn’t know math” and that they connect over music and shared interests, even when Edwards does not recognise some of her older cultural references. In tabloid coverage he is often reduced to “Cher’s boyfriend” or defined by the age gap rather than his own career and identity.
- Role: Music executive (Def Jam, Sony Music Publishing, Last Kings Records).
- Relationship with Cher: Public since November 2022; 40-year age gap; both have denied marriage and engagement rumours.
- Public narrative: Frequently framed by outlets like Page Six and the Daily Mail in terms of Cher’s age and the “massive ring” or “marriage speculation” rather than his own work.
Sources
Page Six — Cher sparks Alexander Edwards marriage speculation with ring at son Chaz Bono’s wedding
Daily Mail — Is Cher married? Singer, 79, wears diamond ring to son Chaz Bono’s wedding
BBC — Sienna Miller condemns age gap ‘double standards’
People — Who Is Cher’s Boyfriend? All About Alexander Edwards
E! Online — Why Sienna Miller Wants to “Normalize” Older Women Dating Younger Men