Cher Gushes Over Falling ‘Madly in Love’ With Val Kilmer in the ’80s

Cher is looking back on her long-lasting friendship with former love Val Kilmer as the actor’s new documentary, Val, offers a new look at his career and cancer battle over the years. The “Believe” artist, 75, who met and “fell madly in love” with the Top Gun star, 61, back in the ’80s, recalled their years together in a new essay for PEOPLE, saying that while she didn’t know how the two managed to stay friends, “We didn’t try. We just were.”

Cher first met Kilmer at a birthday party and the two hit things off immediately. “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. Well, I guess not really a long time,” she recalled. The two immediately bonded over their mutual independence and sense of humor.

“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 said. “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.”

After seeing the Prime Video documentary, Cher reached out to her longtime friend with the nicknames they’ve always used for one another. “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.’”

Cher admitted she has always loved and will always love Kilmer. “He is so creative like nobody I’ve ever known and how brave he was to do it in the way that he did it,” she gushed. “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.” Val is streaming now on Prime Video.