Miley Cyrus’ dad Billy Ray breaks silence on divorce that sparked huge family feud
The Cyrus cold war may be over...
Amid family feud rumours, Billy Ray Cyrus has heaped unexpected praise on his ex-wife Tish, who is also mum to popstar daughter Miley.
The actor and 90s country singer, 63, has apparently been in something of a war of words with the rest of the Cyrus clan over the last 18 months.
Speculation first began in earnest in 2024 when Miley, 32, appeared to skip her dad’s wedding to Australian singer Firerose – their marriage lasted only months.
Before that, Miley’s brother and Metro Station singer Trace publicly sent several emotional messages to Billy Ray, saying he was ‘worried’ about his dad.
And after Miley recently quashed rumours of a fall-out between her and mum Tish, 57, Billy Ray has now spoken positively of the woman he was married to for 30 years.
Sunday, May 11 marked Mother’s Day in the United States, and the Achy Breaky Heart singer had only words of love for he mother of his two daughters and one son.
The Cyrus family is ‘close to healing’ according to Billy Ray (Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty)On Instagram, he posted a lengthy and heartfelt statement, paying tribute to the mothers in his life, alongside a personal photograph of his own mum.
‘Happy Mother’s Day to all the strong mothers out there. Here’s a couple that made our family who and what we are,’ later saying: ‘Tish Cyrus was and is the very definition of a strong mother.’
To his 1.7 million followers, he added: ‘Trust me, I’m the first to admit being married to me was not easy. I’m very good at making mistakes. [I’m a] very imperfect man.
Billy Ray and Tish were married between 1993 and 2023 (Picture: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Miley and her dad starred in Hannah Montana together (Picture: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)Billy Ray and Tish’s divorce was finalised in 2023, but it was revealed that the pair had been separated for some time beforehand – and it wasn’t the first time they’d filed for divorce from each other.
In 2010, it was Billy who filed for divorce from Tish, eventually dropping proceedings the following year. In 2013, Tish filed for divorce from Billy Raybut entered couples’ therapy and stayed together instead.
By 2017, the couple had filed for divorce again but the case was thrown out after they both failed to appear in court, which meant that only in 2022 did the divorce proceedings finally go through.
In the Instagram post, Billy Ray also gave love to daughter Miley and praised her ‘guts and courage and wisdom’ and strength,’ admitting that the Cyrus family have ‘been through a lot’.
The statement comes after Billy Ray confirmed his relationship with Liz Hurley (Picture: Instagram) Billy Ray’s marriage to singer Firerose only lasted a few months (Picture: Jason Kempin/Getty)Billy Ray did offer hope to Cyrus fans, however, who wish to see an end to the cold war in the press, revealing: ‘We are so close to a full healing.’
All three of Billy Ray, Miley, and Braison were seen in a sweet family photo, uploaded to Instagram by Billy to celebrate Braison’s 31st birthday – Miley’s partner Maxx Morando was also present.
The statement made by Billy Ray on Sunday comes just a few weeks after he appeared to confirm his romance with British model and Hollywood actress Elizabeth Hurley, 59.
Billy Ray and Liz seemed to confirm their relationship with a cosy Instagram picture – the pair were seen sharing a romantic kiss while sat down in a grassy field.
And on Sunday evening on Instagram, he referred to Liz as his ‘beautiful girlfriend,’ as he celebrated her appearance in a new music video for Bryan Adams.
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