Cher Says Ex-Boyfriend Gene Simmons Told Her He Loved Her After 1 Date

Cher is reflecting on her two-year relationship with Gene Simmons.

The singer/actress, 78, who dated the KISS musician from 1977 to 1979, reveals in her new memoir Cher: The Memoir, Part One that Simmons, 75, professed his love for her after just one date.

Cher reveals that the pair met when she was invited to a reception for Gerald Ford that was being held by the head of her record label, Neil Bogart. When she was introduced to Simmons, she mistook him for British actress Jean Simmons. By the end of the night, she was “impressed” by him.

After driving Cher home and subsequently bringing back KISS merch for her child Chaz Bono, they went on a date the following night to a Tubes concert, where he flirted with the “Believe” singer and her friend.

The next day, he called to “apologize” but Cher said neither she nor her friend were interested in him.

The “Detroit Rock City” hitmaker traveled to Japan and ended up racking up a $2,800 bill from talking to Cher for so long on the phone.

“That’s when he blurted out that he loved me,” the “If I Could Turn Back Time” hitmaker writes. “We hadn’t even kissed. We’d only been out once before he left. What is it with these men?“

After the Moonstruck star split from Gregg Allman in 1979, Cher began dating Simmons.

The former couple opened up about their relationship in an interview with PEOPLE in 1979.

While the Mermaids actress said it was “the best relationship I’ve ever had with a human being,” she revealed that they weren’t totally monogamous.

“I’m going through a very liberated phase right now,” Cher said. “I think I have a very masculine attitude to dating … Gene might spend time with another woman and stay the night, but he wants her to leave in the morning so he can get on with his day.” The singer noted, however, that she only saw other men “for companionship. Gene is the only one I’m crazy about. All my relationships are serious. I don’t screw around.”

Of their relationship, Simmons told PEOPLE, “I’m crazy about Cher, nuts about her. She’s my first love. Cher’s an untainted soul who has never done anything bad to anybody.”

Despite their love for one another, the “Lick It Up” performer ended up leaving Cher for another iconic artist: Diana Ross.

Cher: The Memoir, Part One, is now available for purchase wherever books are sold.