Miley Cyrus Explains How Dad Billy Ray Cyrus’ Relationship to Success Is ‘Wildly Different’ to Hers
Miley Cyrus might have followed in dad Billy Ray Cyrus’ footsteps as a performer, but they don’t always see eye-to-eye.
“When I was born, my dad had the No. 1 country song. When I see the numbers, I just see the humans behind it, enjoying the music,” Miley, 30, said in a Saturday, August 26, TikTok video. “I just see people in numbers.”
Miley was born in November 1992, the same year that Billy Ray’s “Achy Breaky Heart” topped the music charts.
“My dad grew up the opposite of me, so I think that’s where me and my dad’s relationship to fame and success is wildly different,” Miley said in the video, which is a part of her “Used to Be Young” recap series in honor of her new single of the same name. “Him feeling loved by a big audience impacted him emotionally more than it ever could me. When he feels special or important it’s like healing a childhood wound and I’ve always been made to feel like a star. It makes me emotional.”
The former Disney Channel star is the eldest child of Billy Ray, 62, and ex-wife Tish Cyrus — who shares son Trace and daughter Brandi from a previous relationship, whom Billy Ray adopted — and frequently accompanied her parents on the road.
“I do have a lot of great memories singing music with my dad and learning and absorbing,” Miley said in the clip, which also aired in her Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions) Hulu special on Friday, August 25. “I think I can see my wheels turning and watching his voice and the way that he’s using the instrument.”
She continued: “I will say that I feel vocally my dad was under-appreciated.”
While Miley grew up watching her dad rock the country charts, she got her own moment in the spotlight when she landed the role of Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana. Billy Ray was cast as her onscreen dad, who later claimed that the show “destroyed” their brood’s relationships.
“I'll tell you right now — the damn show destroyed my family. And I sit there and go, 'Yeah, you know what? Some gave all.' It is my motto, and guess what? I have to eat that one. I some-gave-all'd it all right. I some-gave-all'd it while everybody else was going to the bank. It's all sad,” he told GQ in a 2011 profile, noting he wished the show never happened. “I'd take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just be everybody OK, safe and sound and happy and normal, would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I'd erase it all in a second if I could.”
Miley, for her part, wrote via Instagram on Saturday that “sometimes it feels like my life started” with the premiere of Hannah Montana. “But before Hannah there was Miley. My fantasy was to light up the world with laughter, music & iconic moments that last beyond my lifetime,” she captioned her social media upload. “Decades later, I continue to fulfill my purpose because of the love provided by my fans.”
Hannah Montana concluded in January 2011, less than one year after Billy Ray first filed for divorce from Tish, 56. He withdrew his petition several months later before Tish refiled in 2013. The twosome briefly reconciled before the music manager filed again in April 2022. Billy Ray has since moved on with singer Firerose, getting engaged in November 2022. Tish, for her part, married actor Dominic Purcell earlier this month.
Miley hosted Tish and Purcell’s wedding at her Malibu, California, home and served as a bridesmaid alongside sister Brandi, 36. Trace, 34, also attended but their younger siblings Braison, 29, and Noah, 23, skipped the ceremony.
“Tish will always love her kids no matter what,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in August. “She understands divorce might be challenging especially when she and Billy Ray had been together for so long.”
The insider added: “Tish has never pushed her relationship with Dominic on any of her children and that’s not something she would ever do. She gets that it’s an adjustment for the whole family and doesn’t expect everyone to be on board every step of the way.”
