EXCLUSIVE: Cher's Love and Loss — Inside Her Relationship With Late Hollywood Actor Val Kilmer…As She Celebrates Her 80th Birthday
Cher dated Val Kilmer in the '80s and said he was 'so beautiful.'
May 19 2026, Published 5:40 p.m. ET
Cher had a love story with Val Kilmer that almost went the distance.
As the “Believe” singer’s 80th birthday approaches on May 20, RadarOnline.com revisits their passionate romance and heartfelt friendship over the years.
'He Was So Beautiful'
Val Kilmer originally didn't think he would have anything in common with Cher.
The pair first met in 1981, but it took a moment for sparks to fly.
Kilmer once said that he wasn’t “motivated to meet her” because he truly didn’t think that they’d have anything in common. But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“I fell madly in love with him!” Cher said. “He was so young. Was he 22? What was I? I don’t know. Thirtysomething … He was so beautiful!”
While neither of them expected their love to blossom, Cher admitted that their first kiss was like fireworks.
“I thought my head would shoot right off my body. I had to catch my breath,” she explained.
'Like Nobody I've Ever Known'
Cher said she fell 'madly in love' with Val Kilmer.
As for their dating dynamic, she said she bounced from “madly in love and laughing hysterically" to "respecting each other’s ability.”
“He’s like nobody I’ve ever known. He is exasperating and hysterical. Thrilling and funny, and doesn’t do what anyone else does,” she recalled.
Their relationship was also a playful one.
“Val didn’t want to yell ‘Cher,’ and I didn’t want to yell ‘Val.’ We also called ourselves Valus Maximus and Cherus Reprimandus,” Cher joked. “It was just kind of who I was in the household. Of course he was Maximus, come on. He was a free spirit ... He stretches every boundary."
"We had unbelievable times and then put up with some times when they weren’t [that way] because we were both Alpha males. We were both individuals, and neither of us was going to give up on that.”
One of Her Top Lovers
Cher said Val Kilmer was a 'great kisser.'
As Radar previously reported, Cher even ranked him high on her list of famous lovers.
“Val is terrific but sometimes it’s just too intense and hot,” the “Turn Back Time” artist gushed. “He is a great kisser. My rule of thumb, and it’s never failed me, is if a man’s a good kisser, he’s a great f--k.”
Cher's Touching Tribute
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Cher wrote a tribute post to Val Kilmer after his death in 2025.
Their relationship reportedly ended in 1984, but in 2021, rumors swirled they had decided to give their once-upon-a-time romance another go.
“[Val] and Cher secretly got back together, and their love is stronger than even before,” an insider said at the time. “Usually they just like being holed up at her place. They laugh a lot, and he’s still as exasperating as ever, but they’re wild for each other.”
“Cher loves Val — and always will — and thinks he’s brilliant and unlike any guy she’s ever known,” added the source.
However, Kilmer tragically passed away on April 1, 2025, from pneumonia. He was 65.
The next day, Cher took to X and penned a touching tribute to her former boyfriend.
“VALUS. We will miss u,” she wrote. “U were funny, crazy, pain in the a--, (and a) GREAT FRIEND.”
