The Obvious Red Flags Billy Ray Cyrus' Marriage To Firerose Would Never Last

Billy Ray Cyrus may have thought that Firerose would be his happy ending following his divorce from Tish Cyrus, whom he was married to for about 30 years, but he was wrong. Roughly seven months after the couple tied the knot, Cyrus has filed to divorce and annul his union with the Australian singer. According to People, the star cited "irreconcilable differences" and "inappropriate marital conduct" as the basis for the divorce. However, Cyrus also petitioned to have the entire union annulled because of fraud, though his filings did not reveal what exactly he feels Firerose has defrauded him of.

This is a heartbreaking conclusion after a sweet start to their marital journey. Shortly after their wedding, the couple took to Instagram to celebrate their nuptials. Alongside a gorgeous shot of their wedding photos, Cyrus wrote, "10/10/23 will always be the beautiful, joyous day that our two souls united as one in holy matrimony. ... 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." 

However, there was always a question mark next to the couple's relationship, thanks to a couple of glaringly obvious red flags.

Firerose and Billy Ray are almost 30 years apart

Between his long, shaggy hair, collection of shades, and his documented love of motorcycles, Billy Ray Cyrus may exude the energy of a young, exuberant rock star, but the reality is the singer is in his 60s. That may not have any bearing on his cool factor, but he still has a 30-year age gap with his now-estranged wife, Firerose, who's 35. And while age-gap relationships are a dime a dozen in the land of make-believe, that doesn't mean that they don't pose special challenges for those involved. That could be the case for Cyrus and Firerose, whose relationship was already a little weird.

Of course, it's impossible to know if the age difference caused any serious strain on their bond, as Cyrus' and Firerose's comments on the matter amount to a statement from his lawyer. "Mr. Cyrus and the court filings speak for themselves. Currently, we don't have any further comments to add," shared Jason Talley with ET. However, they could have run into any number of problems, including differing thoughts on family planning. Assuming Firerose wanted a family with Cyrus, who has six biological and adopted kids, it wouldn't be surprising if he was hesitant about starting over at this phase of life. While it is certainly speculative, it's definitely one of many issues that some age-gap couples face.

Miley Cyrus may not have approved of their marriage

Speaking of children, the biggest red flag cast over Billy Ray Cyrus' romance with Firerose is his daughter, Miley Cyrus. Over the past couple of years, reports about Miley's displeasure over her father's relationship with Firerose have swirled online. Page Six reported that Miley skipped out on their wedding, even though she found the time to make it to the nuptials between her mom, Tish Cyrus, and Dominic Purcell. Miley then totally shaded her father, who was undoubtedly instrumental in her success, while accepting her first Grammy award in February 2024. To further drive in the knife, Miley made a point to ignore her father — and her sister Noah — again in her accompanying Instagram post about her win.

That said, Miley is kind of the reason that Billy Ray and Firerose crossed paths in the first place, as he met his future wife while filming her Disney Channel show, "Hannah Montana," over a decade ago. "There's a couple old pine trees on the lot that look like Tennessee," Billy shared with People in November 2022. "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. 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.'"