Val Kilmer and Cher fell in love at the beginning of the 80s and lived an intense bond that later became an unconditional friendship.
The frenzy began in the 80s. Cher had just gone through two divorces that generated media noise at the time. The first, was from the musician Sonny Bono, with whom she had also forged an iconic duet that would mark an entire generation of artists. The second marriage that she also put an end to was the one she formed with another musician, Gregg Allman, which lasted just three years. In 1978, when that relationship dissolved, the singer and actress began her path in the film industry, thus becoming one of the pioneers when it came to breaking the prejudices that exist regarding the leap that musicians make into the world of cinema.
Cher's breakthrough was truly inspiring and included a string of extraordinary performances in films such as Mike Nichols' Silkwood, Peter Bogdanovich's Mask, George Miller's The Witches of Eastwick, and Norman Jewison's Moonstruck. which won the coveted Oscar award.
At that same time in which she managed to be considered a versatile actress who no longer needed the approval of an industry that previously viewed her with some suspicion, Cher met an actor 13 years younger than her who concentrated much of the attention of the press. by her co-star in Top Gun: heartthrob Val Kilmer. Although both were shown at various events, including the Oscars, the bond developed without them exposing it too much. Two years ago, however, it was the multifaceted artist who recalled the relationship, stating that she was “madly in love” with the Doors actor, but made a reservation: “On the first dates I thought he was crazy, once he took me to see "A very strange play, a Japanese theatrical production of Macbeth and I didn't know what was happening, I thought everything was going to end quickly."
The birthday on which the crash occurred
On May 20, Cher was celebrating a new birthday and Kilmer attended accompanied by a mutual friend who was convinced that they were going to get along well. According to the actress and singer, that instant chemistry did not occur just by looking at each other: their connection began on an intellectual level and lasted for a few months in the field of friendship. “We became friends immediately, we didn't laugh at the same things all the time, we were attracted to the same things, making each other laugh was a key factor in our bond,” the artist shared in dialogue with People magazine and added that they valued what they did so much. that they had, that they didn't want to take it to another level. In a way, they had developed a platonic relationship. “He slept at my house and I slept at his, but nothing happened, we spent a long time strengthening what we had in that way,” recalled the actress and singer. In any case, she did not deny that during that period they were in love, rather the opposite, there was a reluctance to become a couple that dissipated when they realized that they could no longer hide her longing to be together.
When they actually got married, they both feared being subject to industry prejudices and, for a time, they were. The age difference was constantly highlighted when she referred to their relationship, but Cher assured that the panorama was different behind the scenes and that Kilmer was a key figure in her life when she changed her perspective regarding how to apprehend pleasure. “He was young and he was at a very peak moment in his career, I was in my 30s. At that time in Hollywood, that gap was a topic that was given too much importance, but with Val, we lived it differently. Having been with him gave me security and self-esteem, I felt that a young person was not intimidated by being with an older woman, the problem arose from another place: from the older men who criticized what we were experiencing, they did not like to see that disparity,” remarked the artist who, true to her style, tried not to echo what was said about them and enjoy what she had with Kilmer, even taking the relationship one step further.
