Billy Ray Cyrus Confirms Engagement to Singer Firerose 4 Months After Tish Cyrus Split
An achy breaky heart no more. Billy Ray Cyrus and singer Firerose became engaged just four months after the country singer and his estranged wife, Tish Cyrus, announced their split and divorce after more than 28 years of marriage.
The couple kept quiet about the engagement until Bill confirmed the news in an interview with People on Tuesday, November 15. “She’s the real deal,” he said of his fiancée.
The Disney Channel alum also opened up about meeting Firerose, 28, on set of Hannah Montana 12 years earlier with his late dog, Tex. "There's a couple old pine trees on the lot that look like Tennessee. Tex and I would go out there in the middle of the day and he'd take care of his business and we'd stretch and I'd think how much I missed Tennessee,” Billy, 61, recalled. “On that given day, Firerose came out of the front door. There was almost a moment of, I don't know, recognition. I was like, 'This girl's a star.'"
After noting Firerose was on set auditioning for a role she didn’t book, Billy explained he knew she had potential and wanted to help her. "I just thought, well, the casting agents, the producers, the writers, they're all on the floor of where we do Hannah Montana. And I actually said to her, 'Don't ever take a strange man up on this offer, but, in this case, Tex will testify that you will be totally safe. I'm going to introduce you to a producer and you can kind of make yourself at home and watch us rehearse and you know, maybe it might lead to a role or just another contact at Disney,’” he said. “And so, off me and her and Tex went back to the studio and I think she met a lot of the cast and met the producers, writers. And, in some ways, well, in a lot of ways, we became friends."
The pair continued a friendship, with Firerose standing by his side amid his divorce from Tish, 55, and him helping her with her music career.
"All of the sudden, the life that I've always known as a touring artist didn't exist anymore. A moment of so much change. And at the same time, Firerose, who had been such a light of positivity, such a best friend,” Billy explained of when their relationship turned romantic. “And then when we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist. Again, we're musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life."
Their confirmation comes nearly two months after they first sparked engagement rumors in September. The couple fueled the rumors in an October 18 Instagram post.
“Happy Autumn,” Billy and the “New Day” singer captioned a joint Instagram post of themselves posing closely together, with Firerose seemingly showing off a huge diamond ring on her left ring finger.
The “Old Town Road” crooner and the Australia-born artist first sparked dating rumors earlier in July after Firerose posted a photo of the pair outside Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, to which fans took as a sign they were in a relationship.
The musicians are often featured on each other’s Instagram grids, as Billy and the “I Was on Fire” singer have worked together professionally for quite some time. During an appearance on Live With Kelly & Ryan in August 2021, Firerose opened up about how the pair first met on the set of Billy and daughter Miley Cyrus’ hit Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana.
“We actually met 10 years ago on the set of Hannah Montana,” the “All Figured Out” songstress said. “Billy Ray’s been a phenomenal supporter of my music ever since. He’s just really believed in me and continued to tell me to pursue my dreams no matter what and not give up. The music industry is not easy, but he’s been just a really, really incredible support [sic].”
Tish, whom Billy wed in December 1993, filed for divorce for the third time in April. The couple first filed for divorce in 2010 but reconciled their differences. Tish filed for divorce again in 2013; however, the pair seemingly worked through their marital issues at the time.
In paperwork obtained by In Touch, Tish cited “irreconcilable differences” in her 2022 filing and claimed that the former pair had not “cohabited as man and wife for a continuous period of more than two years.”
Days later, the couple spoke out publicly about their split, telling People in a statement: "We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths. We will always be family and look forward to a continued and loving shared experience as friends and parents. We have not come to this decision lightly or quickly but with so much going on in the world, we wanted to provide some clarity and closure, so we can remain focused on what is important."
A rep for Billy Ray Cyrus did not immediately respond to In Touch’s request for comment.