Cher: musician, actress, and fashion icon; she’s incredible. The star seems to top herself whenever she comes out with a new project. One thing she’s a pro at is falling in love. After all, she has a song all about believing in love.The chart-topping singer has been married twice. She was married to Sony Bono from 1964 to 1975. The pair share a child: Chaz Bono. From 1975 to 1979, Cher was married to Greg Allman, and they share a child: Elijah Blue Allman.Cher has also had many great love affairs. Warren Beatty, Gene Simmons, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. But, one relationship close to the stars heart is her time with Val Kilmer.
Cher and Val Kilmer’s Relationship Timeline
Cher and Val were together in the ’80s. In Kilmer’s memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry; the actor recalled when he first met Cher in 1981. He says he was in a Manhattan restaurant when a “lady friend” told him Cher was interested in meeting him.
One would think he would be excited, but he was initially not eager to pursue the singer. “Her name shocked me to the point that I spit out my spaghetti while exclaiming, ‘No!'” he wrote. “I saw Cher as a less-than-fascinating character out of the gossip rags. I was not motivated to meet her, not out of snobbery but simply because I was sure we had nothing in common.”
Cher recalls their first encounter a little bit differently. While speaking to People, she said, “I met him at a birthday party my friend was having for me. She said, ‘I invited this guy, and I think either you or my friend who’s an editor will like him.'”
She continues, “We became friends because we constantly laughed at the same things. 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.”
After being married and divorced twice, Cher said her relationship with Kilmer came “the closest to working.” Saying the actor was a sensitive artist with a great sense of humor.
Kilmer was loved not only by Cher but also by her son Elijah Blue. While speaking with VH1’s Behind the Music, he said Kilmer was his favorite boyfriend of his mom’s while growing up. “He gave me a human scalp for my birthday, and from then on, I just loved him.” You know, the classic human scalp gift we all want…
What Cher Has to Say About Dating Val Kilmer
Cher recounts her time with Kilmer fondly. But, when the two separated romantically, that wasn’t the end of their relationship. The pair have stayed close friends. In 2015, when Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer, the actor stayed with Cher in her home.
When speaking at a fan Q&A, Cher named Kilmer [and Meryl Streep] the most inspiring artist she has ever worked with. “I once did an audition with Val for a playhouse we wanted to be a part of, and while we were doing this scene, I forgot what I was doing and just stopped and watched him,” she said.
Cher recounts their special nicknames for one another, saying, “We called ourselves Sid and Ethel. Val didn’t want to yell ‘Cher,’ and I didn’t want to yell ‘Val.’ We also called ourselves Valus Maximus and Cherus Reprimandus. It was just kind of who I was in the household. Of course, he was Maximus; come on.”
The actress says they were both alpha males, which could cause some tension in the relationship. “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.”
Cher says, “He’s an artist. He can be a brat, too, but you forgive him. You forgive him everything. Even when I was angry, it was still a joy. If he called, it wouldn’t matter where I was; I would go.”
“I loved him—and I love him.”
What Val Kilmer Has to Say About Dating Cher
Kilmer seems to have nothing but love for Cher. After all, when one is sick, you don’t tend to run to an ex you hate. After being diagnosed with throat cancer, Kilmer took up residency in Cher’s guesthouse.
Thankfully, the actor is cancer-free today, but he recalls a particularly harrowing night in his memoir I’m Your Huckleberry. The actor wrote how he woke up one-night vomiting blood. “Cher stepped in and stepped up,” he wrote.
He continues with the story saying, “And yet even in my grave condition, I saw her scanning the paramedic, who was Gregory Peck drop-dead handsome. Despite the fact that I was covered in blood, I caught her eye and bounced my brows like Groucho Marx. Hubba hubba. Cher was bashful to be busted but then couldn’t help laughing out loud at the audacity.”
“Only in Hollywood, right?” he added.
Though they have both spoken out about their mutual love for one another, they have kept their relationship on the down low. But, sometimes, the loudest love is the quietest.