Cher poses with her son Chaz Bono in 2010 (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Cher has said she struggled with her son coming out as trans and transitioning to male.

The gay icon has had a strained relationship with her son, Chaz Bono, who came out as a lesbian in 1995 before he transitioned to male in 2008.

In an interview with PrideSource, Cher admits that it was not “easy” for her to deal with her child coming out on either occasion.

She said: “I didn’t go through it that easily. Both times. When I found out Chaz was gay, I didn’t go through it that easily.

“When I found out Chaz was [transitioning]… we talked about it a lot, actually. But then Chaz didn’t mention it anymore, so I kind of forgot. And what I think is, there’s such a fear of losing the child you love, and what will replace that child.”

Cher added: “I think it’s about the fear, mostly. I felt, who will this new person be? Because I know who the person is now, but who will the new person be and how will it work and will I have lost somebody?

“And then I thought of something else: I thought, my God, if I woke up tomorrow and I was a man, I would be gouging my eyes out. And so I know that if that’s what you feel then that must be so painful that it doesn’t make any difference what anyone else feels or what anyone else thinks.”

Happily, the pair appear to have reconciled in recent years.

Cher confirmed: “Chaz is so happy now and we get along better than ever.”

The star posted a tribute to her son last year after he appeared on American Horror Story.

She tweeted: “CHAZ IM SO PROUD OF YOU. YOURE A TALENTED ARTIST…KNEW IT FROM SEC. I SAW SCENE IN FILM .IT WAS MAGIC‼️YOU ARE AMAZING MOM”

Speaking about his strained relationship with his mother in 2014, Chaz Bono said: “[Transitioning] was kind of the first thing that I did where I was like, ‘OK, I don’t have everybody’s blessing or understanding so to speak but this is what I need to do for myself.’

“It really helped me become a man in more ways than one.”

He added: “Now our relationship is better than ever. It’s really on equal footing.

“I can really give back and I don’t want anything from her anymore, including approval. And that is nice.”

Bono spoke to PinkNews about his transition in 2011.