Billy Ray Cyrus' wife Firerose credits his dog for introducing them on 'Hannah Montana' set
Canine intervention brought together newlyweds Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose Cyrus more than a decade ago.
In a "The Kelly Clarkson Show" clip that released Thursday, Australian singer Firerose, who married Billy Ray on Oct. 10, shared the "funny story" of how the couple first met.
"I was walking out of an audition ... in Hollywood, and Billy's dog at the time, Tex, who was the most beautiful German shepherd you've ever seen, he was tapped into some divine purpose," Firerose told Clarkson. "That was, like, 14 years ago so all these years later we just got married!"
At the time, Billy Ray was filming "Hannah Montana" at Sunset Bronson studios with daughter Miley Cyrus and was taking a break with Tex when he encountered Firerose, according to a 2022 interview the couple did with People magazine. He offered to introduce her take her inside the set and introduce her to the Disney channel show's producers.
"Don't ever take a strange man up on this offer, but, in this case, Tex will testify that you will be totally safe," Billy Ray recalls saying at the time. "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."
They kept a "solid" friendship over the years, Firerose told People.
After "a lot of prayer" following his divorce from ex-wife Tish Cyrus, whom he'd been married to for 29 years, Billy Ray asked Firerose whether they could be more than friends. They started as "musical soulmates," which evolved into "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," Billy Ray told People. The couple, who married earlier this month, have collaborated on various singles, including “New Day,” “Time” and “Plans.”
Their wedding day on Oct. 10 "will always be the beautiful, joyous day that our two souls united as one in holy matrimony. It was the most perfect, ethereal celebration of love we could have ever imagined," the couple shared in a joint Instagram post on Oct. 11.
The caption continues, "For both of us to hear the preacher say, 'Billy Ray and Firerose Cyrus… I now pronounce you husband and wife; that was the sacred moment our new forever began."
An 'ethereal celebration': Billy Ray Cyrus, Tish Cyrus' ex-husband, marries singer Firerose
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Firerose credits husband Billy Ray Cyrus' dog for matchmaking them