Cher says Val Kilmer is the only celebrity who broke up with her

Only a “few men” have walked away from the chance to date Cher – and she still remembers their names.

During her Wednesday, November 20 performance at The Howard Stern ShowCher, 78, was asked if men “expect fabulous sex” from her.

“Yes — and they get it,” Cher replied confidently, adding that she’s aware of their enthusiasm. “You can feel the reaction.”

Howard Stern then asked, “Who would ever leave you?” to which Cher had a simple answer.

Related: Cher Through the Years: From Sonny’s Sidekick to Pop Goddess

There’s only one goddess of pop – and she only needs one name: Cher. The legendary singer (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) is more than five decades into her mega-successful career, which has spanned the worlds of music, television, film and fashion. She is just one Tony Award away from becoming an EGOT winner, with a (…)

“Few men,” she laughed. “See, I was madly in love with Val Kilmer and he left… because sometimes you’re only meant to be with someone for so long. Val was really young.”

Cher and Kilmer, who are 13 years apart in age, were together from 1982 to 1984. They met at one of Cher’s birthday parties.

“Val didn’t want to yell ‘Cher,’ and I didn’t want to yell ‘Val,'” Cher recalled People in 2021. “We also called ourselves Valus Maximus and Cherus Reprimandus. It was just who I was in the household. Of course he was Maximus, come on.”

She added at the time: “We became friends because we were constantly laughing at the same things,” she said. “He would sleep over and it was just a friendship (at first). It took a long time. Well, I don’t think very long.”

After their breakup, Cher and Top Gun star, now 64, remained friendly, and the pop icon even invited Kilmer to stay at his guesthouse as he battled throat cancer in 2015.

“One night I woke up suddenly vomiting blood that covered the bed like a scene out of The Godfather. I immediately prayed and then called 911. Then my hostess alerted. Cher walked in and stepped up,” Kilmer recalled in his 2020 memoir, I’m your Huckleberry. “And even in my dire state, I watched her scan the paramedic, who was Gregory Peck, ravagedly handsome. Only in Hollywood, right?”

He continued: “Despite the fact that I was covered in blood, I caught her eye and furrowed my eyebrows like Groucho Marx. Hubba hubba. Cher was embarrassed to be busted but then couldn’t help but laugh out loud of that audacity. Here we were, joking about beauty and lust, while I looked like a stuntman from Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, and yes, while my life seemed to be in danger. We laughed out loud before they were finished my vitals and opened me up with an oxygen mask.”

Cher has been married twice, first to Sonny Bono from 1964 to 1969 and later to Gregg Allman from 1975 to 1979. She shared son Chaz, 55, with Bono, who died in 1998, and son Elijah, 48, with Allman, who died in 2017. Cher is now dating Alexander “AE” Edwards.