Cher is grieving the loss of Val Kilmer.
The iconic singer and actress took to social media to honor the actor, with whom she shared a romantic relationship in the 1980s. Kilmer succumbed to pneumonia at age 65 on April 1, according to his daughter’s statement to The Associated Press. The actor had previously battled throat cancer.
“VALUS Will miss u, U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND, kids (heart) U, BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness,” the Academy Award recipient posted April 2 on X, referencing his theatrical portrayal of Mark Twain and her pet name for him, Valus Maximus.
“We called ourselves Sid and Ethel. Val didn’t want to yell ‘Cher’ and I didn’t want to yell ‘Val,’” she told People in 2021. “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.”
A magnetic screen presence throughout the 1980s and ’90s who delivered unforgettable performances in films like Top Gun, Heat, Batman Forever, and Tombstone, Kilmer’s relationship with Cher raised eyebrows due to their 13-year age difference.
“He was so young. Was he 22? What was I? I don’t know. Thirty-something. It was a bigger deal back then,” she told People.
The singer has revealed how devastated she was when Kilmer ended their relationship.
“I was madly in love with Val Kilmer, and he left,” she disclosed to Howard Stern in 2024.
“Sometimes, you’re only meant to stay with someone so long, and Val was, like — he was really young,” she elaborated.
Cher has expressed how they developed mutual appreciation during their time together.
“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,” she 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.”
Cher also shared with People that Kilmer “is so creative like nobody I’ve ever known,” mentioning her attempt to reconcile after watching his documentary Val, which details his professional journey and health struggles.
“I loved him — and I love him,” she expressed. “I (just wrote to him), I said, ‘Valus Maximus, I’m sorry if I did anything to piss you off or hurt your feelings. I love you and your documentary was all things … I love the things that pissed me off, the things that made me hysterical, amazed, hurt, astonished, etc. You are brave and beyond brilliant. Ethel.’”
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