After fearing he would never find lasting love with a woman, Chaz Bono, 49, has fallen for former child TV star Shara Blue Mathes who appeared alongside Jason Bateman in the 1984 comedy series ‘It’s Your Move’, DailyMailTV can reveal.
And Bono’s mom Cher, 72 has given her blessing to his son’s relationship with 49-year-old Mathes, treating the former drug addict and divorced mother-of-one as one of the family.
Bono, also a former drug addict, took his girlfriend for a romantic trip to Adelaide, Australia in October to see Cher at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Cher, on her ‘Here We Go Again Tour’ posed for pictures with Mathes.
Mathes and Bono also traveled earlier this month to New York where ‘The Cher Show’ musical is playing. The show depicts mom Cher’s life with Chaz’s singer father Sonny Bono.
Mathes and Bono were given star treatment and allowed to go backstage of the Neil Simon Theatre and pose with the show’s props.
In a photo she posted with Bono on January 7, Mathes wrote the message, ‘Backstage in his Mom and Dad’s bed, oh my?!!!’
Shara Blue Mathes (left) and Chaz Bono (right) backstage on January 7 this year for ‘The Cher Show’ musical in New York. Mathes wrote, ‘Backstage in his Mom and Dad’s bed, oh my?!!!’
L-R: Cher, her mother Georgia Holt, son Chaz Bono and Chaz’s girlfriend Shara Blue Mathes celebrate Georgia’s 91st birthday in Malibu, California
Shara Blue Mathes (right) posted this photo ‘all hot and leathered up’ with her boyfriend Chaz Bono (left) at a Hallowe’en party in Los Angeles hosted by actor Colton Haynes
Cher’s transgender son feared he would spend his life alone following a 2011 break – up with girlfriend Jennifer Elia. ‘I seem to repel women I am attracted to,’ he said in 2015.
And when ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ TV series actor Bono was first introduced to divorcee Mathes in Spring 2017, sources say Mathes was not looking for a relationship.
However, just months later, romance blossomed and friends tell DailyMailTV the couple realized they could both relate to growing up in the entertainment industry and suffering from drug addiction.
As ‘Sonny and Cher’, Bono’s parents became one of the world’s best known musical couples with their classic ‘I Got You Babe’. Bono, their only child, was eight when the couple divorced in 1977.
Chaz Bono (left) and his girlfriend Shara Blue Mathes posed for a holiday photo on December 24, 2018 in West Hollywood, California
Mathes, from Hollywood, California, was 15 when she starred alongside a 16-year-old Jason Bateman in the TV comedy series ‘It’s Your Move’. The series ended in 1985.
Mathes has left the film industry and now works for homeless charity Housing Works in Los Angeles, California.
She recently revealed a dark time when drug addiction led to her being unable to care for her son Cooper for two years.
Sources say Cher (left) is delighted her son Chaz Bono (right) has found love with Shara Blue Mathes
In a facebook post on December 30, 2018, wishing Cooper a happy birthday as he turned 18, Mathes wrote: ‘I thank God for my family who took over for me when my addiction rendered me powerless of my life and choices.
‘You never had to see me on drugs and my Mom, Dad and brother loved you all they possibly could until I was healthy again.
Mathes flew with Bono to Adelaide, Australia in October 2018 to see Cher perform in ‘The Cher Show’ musical
‘Earning my way back into your life was hard work. I would’ve done manual labor at the rock quarry if that’s what it took! Mom and Dad knew what they were doing by making me wait until I was 2 years sober to come back into your life… but I would kill to get those years back.’
In his 2011 book ‘Transition: The Story Of How I Became A Man’ Chaz described his own former addiction to prescription drugs.
Chaz explained he took prescription opiates to cope with two tragedies, his father Bono’s death in a freak skiing accident in 1998 and then the death of Chaz’s lover Joan Stephens.
He wrote: “These personal losses triggered a gradual but extreme downward spiral in my life that ultimately led me to develop an addiction to prescription painkillers—the only way I found at the time to take the edge off the searing pain inside of me.”
Chaz, like Mathes, have both successfully overcome their addictions and are seen as great supporters for one another.
Cher’s mother Georgia Holt gave her seal of approval to Mathes when she invited her to join the family for her 91st birthday celebrations in June 2017.
Bono has also proved a hit with the most-important man in Mathes’s life, 18-year-old son Cooper.
Shara Blue Mathes posted photos to instagram showing herself with Jason Bateman in the 1984 comedy TV series ‘It’s Your Move’. She was 15 during filming and Bateman was 16
And Mathes’s father Robbie has also taken to Bono, inviting him to join him for Father’s Day in 2018 at his country club.
Friends tell DailyMailTV the couple enjoy one another’s sense of humor.
Mathes posted a racy photo ‘all hot and leathered up’ with Bono at a Hallowe’en party in Los Angeles hosted by his ‘American Horror Story’ co-star Colton Haynes in October 2017.
Mathes is fiercely protective of Bono, who lived life as a woman called Chastity before completing gender reassignment surgery in 2010.
In a facebook post on December 30, 2018, Shara Blue Mathes wishes her son Cooper a happy 18th birthday but describes how drugs led to her being unable to care for him for two years
Mathes recently blasted a social media troll who made a negative comment about Bono.
Mathes wrote: ‘I’m his girlfriend and he’s the kindest, most badass tenacious man I’ve even know. He is all man.’
A source close to Mathes told DailyMailTV: ‘Shara was newly-single when she first met Chaz and she wasn’t looking for love.
“But Chaz is such a charming, funny guy that Shara soon fell for him. They have traveled the world together, vacationing in Australia, Holland, Italy and France, and they make a great team
“When they are in the US they make a point to see one another’s families. That is so important to them. Cher and her mom Georgia are treating Shara like family. They are delighted Chaz has found someone who makes him happy.’