Cher Admits That She Loved And Still Loves Ex, Val Kilmer: "He's Like Nobody I've Ever Known"

One of the most iconic celebrity relationships from the 80s was that of Cher and Val Kilmer. Cher, who has had her fair share of relationships, even admitted that what she had with Kilmer came “the closest to working” because "he's like nobody I've ever known." But they did end up breaking up, however, and continue to be friends to this day. Cher is now finally sharing more details about her time with the Top Gun actor. Speaking to PEOPLE she narrates how she fell madly in love with him nearly four decades ago and about the lasting bond the two continue to share.

"We called ourselves Sid and Ethel. Val didn't want to yell 'Cher' and I didn't want to yell 'Val.' 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," she said. The two first met at a birthday party after immediately hit it off. From friends, they soon became something more. Kilmer was 22 at the time and Cher was in her 30s. "It was a bigger deal back then," she recalled. "The truth was if I hadn't gone out with younger men, I would have never had a date. Younger men weren't intimidated by older women. But older men in my age category, they weren't having it."

They bonded over art, plays, and share the same sense of humor. Cher had two kids, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman, and Kilmer seemed to get along well with them. "He was so good with my kids. He used to let Elijah drive the truck on his property. He couldn't even see over the dashboard. He might have been nine," Cher said. "He wouldn't be ashamed or think it was anything. He was a free spirit." Even after they broke up, they continued to support each other. Kilmer's new documentary about his personal and professional life, as well as his throat cancer and the diagnosis was released last month. Having watched it, Cher was all praise for her friend.

She wrote to him saying: "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." She went on to say of Kilmer, "He's a true artist and Renaissance man. He was sick and it didn't stop him. He created an extension of his art and his life. Look what he created and even the things he let you see that nobody would let you see. Even the worst things, he wanted to be in the documentary because he wanted to show you who he was."

Cher admitted, "I loved him—and I love him." In an interview with PEOPLE in 1984, Cher had said that it was only after she dated Kilmer did she start to consider marriage as a possibility. Explaining why they broke up she said, “Val is terrific but sometimes it’s just too intense and hot." At the time Kilmer met all the four virtues Cher looked for in a man, who had to be “sensitive, artistic, humor and he is a great kisser. My rule of thumb, and it’s never failed me, is if a man’s a good kisser he’s a great f—-,” she stated. "I was wondering if something was wrong with him. I don’t know what he thought of me. But when we did kiss, I thought my head would shoot right off my body. I had to catch my breath,” she recalled.