Cher is looking back on her thrilling relationship with ex-boyfriend Val Kilmer following his tragic death.
After the “Batman Forever” star died of pneumonia at age 65 on Tuesday, the singer, 78, posted a touching tribute to her former flame on social media.
“VALUS,” Cher wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, referring to Kilmer by the nickname she had for him when the pair famously dated in the early ’80s. “Will miss u.”
“U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND, kids [love] U,” she teased before calling Kilmer “brilliant” as Mark Twain.
Kilmer portrayed the American writer in 2014′s “Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn” and again in a 2016 one-man show titled “Mark Twain: Citizen Twain.”
The “Burlesque” star went on to praise the “Heat” actor for being “brave” during his “sickness.” Kilmer was treated for throat cancer for years after being diagnosed in 2014, though he later recovered. His daughter Mercedes Kilmer told multiple outlets that her dad died of pneumonia.
Back in 2021, Cher told People that she and Kilmer began dating after they met at a birthday party. The two, who had a 13-year age gap, went on to date from 1982 to 1984.
“We became friends because we laughed at the same things constantly. He would sleep over, and it was just a friendship [at first.] That took a long time,” she told the outlet. “Well, I guess not really a long time.”
She went on to gush over Kilmer, saying, “He is exasperating and hysterical. Thrilling and funny, and doesn’t do what anyone else does.”
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Despite Kilmer eventually ending things between them, according to Cher, the pair remained close friends.
The “Top Gun” legend later wrote in his 2020 memoir “I’m Your Huckleberry” that the “Believe” crooner supported him through his throat cancer diagnosis. At one point, she invited him to stay at her guest house.
“One night I suddenly awoke vomiting blood that covered the bed like a scene out of ‘The Godfather.’ I prayed immediately, then called 911. Then alerted my hostess,” Kilmer wrote. “Cher stepped in and stepped up.”
