Cher formed a friendship with actor Val Kilmer before they took things to the next level in the 1980s. While the two A-listers weren’t endgame, there wasn’t any drama between them that led to a breakup. In fact, Cher and Kilmer stayed friends after going their separate ways — and she was one of the stars to pay tribute to him when he died in 2025.
Keep scrolling to look back at their love:
How It Began
Things between Cher and Kilmer started as all good relationships do, with a friendship. One of Cher’s friends invited Kilmer to the singer’s birthday party back in the day, which is where they first crossed paths.
“She said, ‘I invited this guy and I think either you or my friend who’s an editor will like him,’” Cher told People in 2021. She and Kilmer quickly formed a bond.
“We became friends because we laughed at the same things constantly,” she recalled. “He would sleep over and it was just a friendship [at first]. That took a long time. Well, I guess not really a long time.”
How Long It Lasted
Cher and Val Kilmer Barry King/WireImage/Getty Images
Cher and Kilmer were together for two years, from 1982 to 1984, before he broke things off.
“Look, I was madly in love with Val Kilmer, and he left,” she recalled on The Howard Stern Show in November 2024. “Because sometimes you’re only meant to stay with someone for so long.”
How It Ended
Other than Kilmer calling it off, there aren’t a lot of details about why they split.
“Our sense of humor, and what we would put up with from one another, was more than I think I’ve ever had with any other guy,” Cher told People. “He would just go off and do his own thing and you just had to be prepared. And he was so beautiful. It went from madly in love and laughing hysterically to respecting each other’s ability.”
She remembered him as “creative” and “brave” as well.
“He can be a brat too but you forgive him. You forgive him [for] everything,” she added. “Even when I was angry, it was still a joy. If he called, it wouldn’t matter where I was, I would go.”
What They Said About Each Other
Cher and Val Kilmer Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Kilmer remembered Cher as “the funniest person you’ll ever meet,” in his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry.
Harry Langdon/Getty Images Cher has romanced a number of Hollywood A-listers — and she’s not afraid to talk about it. “The reason I go out with young men is because men my age or older — well, now they’re all dead — but before they just never, they were always terrified to approach me and […]
“Once Cher works her way inside your head and heart, she never leaves,” he wrote. “Cher trafficked an intoxicating glamour and I, a Valley boy, fell under her spell.”
Kilmer added, “We had a wild ride, and though we’d eventually veer off in different directions, our spirits stayed united.”
What They Say Now
Cher remembered Kilmer following his death at age 65 in April 2025. (Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but was declared cancer-free in 2016. He died of pneumonia.)
“Will miss u,” the singer wrote via X at the time, alluding to one of his past roles. “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND, kids💜U, BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness.”
