Billy Ray Cyrus has faced ups and downs throughout his career in the spotlight.
Cyrus, complete with his signature mullet, rose to fame in 1992 with the release of his chart-topping Grammy-nominated single “Achy Breaky Heart.” He’s since released 16 studio albums and been nominated for seven Grammy Awards.
Cyrus, also an actor best known for playing real-life daughter Miley’s dad on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, has taken his family along for the ride throughout his career. He shares Miley, Braison and Noah with ex-wife Tish Cyrus and son Christopher with ex Kristin Luckey. (After Billy Ray and Tish married in 1992, he adopted her kids Brandi and Trace from a past relationship.)
The impact of fame — Miley in particular became one of the most popular child stars ever, and successfully transitioned into a beloved adult musician — shifted the dynamics of the once tight-knit Cyrus clan.
The Cyrus Family: A Complete Guide to Miley, Noah, Billy Ray, Trace and More
“The business was driving a wedge between us,” Billy Ray told GQ in 2011. “How many interviews did I give and say, ‘You know what’s important between me and Miley is, I try to be a friend to my kids?’ I said it a lot. And sometimes I would even read other parents might say, ‘You don’t need to be a friend, you need to be a parent.’ Well, I’m the first guy to say to them right now: You were right. I should have been a better parent.”
He added, “I should have said, ‘Enough is enough — it’s getting dangerous and somebody’s going to get hurt.’ I should have, but I didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t know the ball was out of bounds until it was way up in the stands somewhere.”
Billy Ray and Tish divorced in 2022 — they previously separated in 2013 only to reconcile one month later after undergoing couple’s therapy — before another rift seemingly escalated. In 2023, Tish married Australian actor Dominic Purcell with only Miley, Brandi and Trace in attendance. At the time of the nuptials, Noah posed for social media pics with Braison at a Walmart while wearing a T-shirt with Billy Ray’s face on it. (Noah had fallen out with Tish after her own relationship with Purcell. Us broke the news in 2023 that Noah and Purcell had been involved when Tish started pursuing him.)
Two years later, Trace published an emotional plea to Billy Ray via his Instagram and claimed that all of the siblings were worried about the singer. He has yet to publicly address the claims.
Keep scrolling to revisit Billy Ray’s ups and downs through the years:
1992
The release of “Achy Breaky Heart” shot Billy Ray to country stardom, and the track (which charted in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100) earned him three Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Best Country Vocal Performance and Best New Artist, respectively.
That same year, Billy Ray married Tish and adopted her children Brandi and Trace. (They met in 1991 after he divorced first wife Cindy Smith, whom Billy Ray married in 1986. At the time he fell in love with Tish, Billy Ray was also expecting son Christopher with Luckey.)
2001
Amid Billy Ray’s bustling music career, he branched out into acting. Billy Ray portrayed the titular Dr. Clint Cassidy on Fox’s five-season Doc about a country physician from Montana who relocates to New York City. The show, which wrapped in 2004, also featured a brief cameo from a young Miley.
2005
One year after Doc ended, Miley landed her own TV show at age 14. On Hannah Montana, she played a regular teenager who moonlights as a mega-famous pop star. Billy Ray played her father, Robby Ray, a former country singer and Hannah’s manager.
According to Tish, she encouraged her then-husband to sign onto the Disney phenom to keep their family together. (They all had relocated to Toronto while he filmed Doc.)
“He had done ‘Achy Breaky’ and nothing else was working,” Tish said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in 2024. “And then I brought Miley out to audition for Hannah and she had gotten it. And then one of the casting directors said a joke, like, ‘Ugh, too bad we can’t afford her real dad.’ And I said, ‘Oh, maybe you can.’”
She added, “Miley had already gotten Hannah, and I was already stressed about, ‘What are we gonna do?’ I couldn’t, as a mom, have half my kids in Tennessee and be out [in L.A.] with Miley, like I just could not do that. And so I was like, ‘I have to bring all the kids.’ And so that’s when I said to Billy Ray, ‘You should come audition for the dad. Because they love you and they’re really interested. Yes, it would be a pay cut but our family could be together.’”
Hannah Montana ran for four seasons on Disney Channel, culminating in a feature-length film that was released in 2009.
Miley Cyrus Emotionally Explains How Dad Billy Ray Is ‘Wildly Different’
2013
Two years after Billy Ray claimed to GQ in 2011 that Hannah Montana ruined his family, Tish filed for divorce. She withdrew her petition within a month as they reconciled.
“Marriage is hard work. And I think a lot of people, when you go through struggles and difficult times, that people throw in the towel a little too easy,” Tish said on Bravo’s “The Daily Dish” podcast in 2017. “And I think that any relationship — whether it’s marriage or family, it doesn’t matter — you truly do have to take care of it and nurture and really work hard at relationships. And that’s not always easy, especially in the business that we’re in.”
2019
Billy Ray made a surprise return to music when he joined Lil Nas X on the rapper’s breakout “Old Town Road,” which became the longest-running number hit in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. The pair won two Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.
2022
Tish filed for divorce again, claiming in court documents that they had not “cohabited as man and wife for a continuous period of more than two years.” (Billy Ray spent the coronavirus pandemic in Tennessee, while Tish lived in Los Angeles with daughters Miley and Noah.)
“It had not been in a good place for a long time. I think I did stay so long out of fear. Literal fear of being alone,” Tish later reflected on “Call Her Daddy” in 2024. “I met him when I [was] 24. So I, like, grew up … [and] he was such a huge part of that. Then being alone and all of a sudden just having kind of the weight of the world off my shoulders in some ways and [I] was able to just breathe.”
The Cyrus Family Controversies Over the Years
2023
Tish’s wedding to Purcell — in which Miley was the maid of honor — sparked family feud speculation. According to official wedding pics published by Vogue, neither Noah nor Braison were seen at the ceremony. That same day, they were seen venturing around a local Walmart with Noah even wearing a T-shirt with a vintage picture of their dad on it. (Us broke the news that Noah had fallen out with her mother after she also dated Purcell before Tish started pursuing him.)
None of the relatives have publicly addressed the apparent falling out.
“He’s tried reaching out to Miley many times and congratulated her on her Grammys,” a source told Us of Billy Ray in February 2024, referring to Miley’s award show victory that year. “The kids have chosen sides, but friends are hoping the rift doesn’t last forever.”
2024
Billy Ray married Firerose (real name Johanna Hodges) in October 2023 after a whirlwind romance. Seven months later in July 2024, he filed for an annulment and cited irreconcilable differences and “inappropriate marital conduct” as cause for the split.
They finalized their breakup that August, in which Firerose was awarded $0.
“This past Friday the parties reached a settlement agreement at mediation to dissolve their 7-month marriage, and the Court declared the parties divorced this morning. Mr. Cyrus is relieved to put this nightmare behind him,” Billy Ray’s lawyers said in a statement. “Further, a couple of weeks ago, prior to mediation, Ms. Hodges legally changed her last name from ‘Hodges’ to ‘Cyrus.’ Mr. Cyrus feels that this validates his assertion that his ex-wife’s sole impetus for marrying him was to obtain his last name.”
Firerose didn’t immediately address the divorce settlement but previously denied his allegations.
2025
Billy Ray was one of the headliners at the Liberty Ball in honor of Donald Trump’s second inauguration. He later defended the performance, which featured technical difficulties.
“This was the most fun part of the Liberty Ball! And if you didn’t see it … you just had to be there,” he wrote via Instagram in January before quoting “Achy Breaky Heart,” adding, “‘I just don’t think you understand.’”
Days later, Trace expressed concern regarding his father.
“Sadly, the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now. It seems this world has beaten you down and it’s become obvious to everyone but you,” Trace wrote via Instagram. “You may be upset with me for posting this but I really could care less at this point. Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away.”
The Metro Station performer claimed that Billy Ray was “not healthy” but didn’t know what the Grammy winner was “struggling with exactly.”
“I think I have a pretty good idea & I’d love to help you if you would open up and receive the help,” Trace added. “You know how to reach me. Till that day comes I will continue to pray for you.”
Billy Ray has not publicly responded to Trace’s message.
