Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose finalize divorce after abuse claims, leaked audio

Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose have settled their divorce after months of public back-and-forth contention.

The country star and his wife of seven months have finalized their divorce, with a court declaring the former couple divorced on Monday.

Cyrus, 62, first filed for divorce in May and the pair have been in a tense legal battle since, with accusations of abuse coming from both sides.

"Mr. Cyrus is relieved to put this nightmare behind him," Cyrus' lawyers Rose Palermo and Jason Talley wrote in a statement to USA TODAY Monday. "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."

In the emailed statement Cyrus called the marriage to Firerose, 36, born Johanna Rosie Hodges, a "crazy insane scam."

"Giving thanks today to breathe a sigh of relief," he said. "Not only was it a web of lies that put me in physical danger …. It was a matter of the heart. Love is blind … that's for sure."

A person familiar with ligation who was not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY on Monday that Firerose chose to settle for $0 in order to be done with the erratic relationship and what they view as attacks on her character. The person added that if the divorce proceedings had gone to trial, Firerose's team would have provided evidence they claim disproves Cryus' narrative.

Billy Ray Cyrus divorce settlement comes after leaked audio controversy

In leaked audio obtained by Page Six, Us Weekly and People last month, the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer was heard calling Firerose an "idiot," "selfish" and repeatedly telling her to shut up.

Firerose told her estranged husband in the leaked audio to "Please stop screaming at me."

"I don't think you're real smart. I've changed my damn mind on that," the singer continued in an explicit rant.

Billy Ray Cyrus says he was at his 'wit's end' amid leaked audio berating Firerose, Tish

In a lengthy statement provided to USA TODAY at the time, Cyrus' attorneys called the leaked audio Firerose's "apparent last-ditch effort to squeeze money out of Mr. Cyrus ahead of our court ordered mediation" and claimed Firerose made the recording without his knowledge, thus "she was intentionally on her best behavior."

Cyrus spoke out regarding the leaked rant against Firerose — and his ex-wife, Tish — on his Instagram story on July 24.

"Hell yeah I was at my wit's end. As every day went by, I started realizing something was wrong. And that’s before I knew she was a fraud. I just knew something wasn’t right. That was before I knew she was David Hodges ex-wife. That’s before I knew her parents last name."

David Hodges is a songwriter and producer who has worked with Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and more.

Billy Ray continued: "I saw before my very own eyes, everything I thought I knew about her, was a lie. She was trying to take over my career, my life and usurp the Cyrus name for her own gain."

Billy Ray Cyrus reportedly called ex Tish a 'skank.' We need to talk about slut-shaming.

Billy Ray Cyrus, Firerose accused each other of abuse

Firerose told Page Six in an interview in June that Cyrus was verbally abusive.

“He would rage at me, shout at me at the top of his lungs. He would terrify me,” she said. “It was illogical and insane and terrifying."

In a court filing in Tennessee's Williamson County Chancery Court, obtained by USA TODAY, Billy Ray responded to Firerose's June 14 counter-complaint by claiming the marriage was "induced by fraud." The singer also claimed Firerose's "allegations of abuse were only made to sensationalize her false complaints by using the word 'abuse.'"

Cyrus added that while he "would acknowledge that he was certainly vocal, frustrated and angry with" Firerose in May, it's Cyrus "who, in fact, has been abused."

He also claimed he was "not only verbally and emotionally" abused by Firerose "but also physically abused" by her.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, KiMi Robinson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose finalize tumultuous divorce