Cher posts candid message remembering ex-boyfriend Val Kilmer after his death: ‘Will miss u’

Cher remembered her ex-boyfriend, actor Val Kilmer, in perhaps the most Cher way possible in a sweet, candid social media tribute following the Batman Forever and Top Gun film series star’s death from pneumonia Tuesday at age 65.

The Oscar-winning entertainer shared a short post on X Wednesday morning, reflecting on her time with Kilmer, with whom she was in a relationship in the early 1980s.

“Will miss u, U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND,” Cher posted on the site, adding “Kids

Though Kilmer is better known for his roles in major movies like the aforementioned blockbusters (as well as Willow and The Doors, among others), Cher highlighted Kilmer’s performance in the 2012 stage production Citizen Twain as one of her favorite performances of the star’s career.

“BRILLIANT as Mark Twain,” Cher wrote, before praising Kilmer’s fortitude in his battle against cancer, after he was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but didn’t publicly reveal it until 2017. “BRAVE here during ur sickness.”

Cher recently spoke about her affection for Kilmer in a November 2024 interview on The Howard Stern Show, during which she told the host that she was “madly in love with” the actor before “he left” her.

In 2021, Cher told PEOPLE that the former couple met at a birthday party in the early 1980s, and that they “became friends because we laughed at the same things constantly,” before their relationship blossomed.

Cher also told the publication that she helped take care of Kilmer after his cancer diagnosis. “He was at my house a lot of the time he was sick. He was brave the whole time,” she said. “I saw how sick he was. Once when the paramedics showed up after he was so sick and coughing up blood, he looked at me and I looked at him and we both knew what we were thinking. Because those guys are so handsome. When one of those paramedics comes to your house, you just know you’re going to see somebody who’s really cute.”

Kilmer’s Willow and The Missing director Ron Howard also paid tribute to the actor on Tuesday.

“I was incredibly fortunate to collaborate with Val a number of times over the years. As the offbeat swordsman #Madmartigan in #Willow, his stunning #JimMorrison in Oliver Stone’s #TheDoors & in a chilling cameo in #TheMissing,” Howard wrote, praising Kilmer’s “awesome range as an actor” in those projects.

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“His art extended to his poetry, artworks, filmmaking, and simply the way he lived,” Howard continued. “Bon Voyage, Val. And thank you.”

Mercedes Kilmer, the actor’s daughter, told The New York Times that her father died of pneumonia on Tuesday. The Associated Press later reported that Mercedes sent the outlet an email confirming her dad’s death, which she said occurred Tuesday night in Los Angeles while family and friends surrounded him.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Kilmer for more information.