Inside Billy Ray And Tish Cyrus' Relationship

When it comes to famous Hollywood families, the Cyruses are definitely one of the most active broods these days, considering both the parents and children have pretty successful careers in show business. While Miley Cyrus may be the family superstar, it's safe to say she wouldn't be the household name she is today without her famous dad and mom, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and his now estranged wife, Tish Cyrus.

Since the early '90s, Billy Ray has been a force in country music, releasing 16 albums and some Billboard hits. And Tish has been by his side practically since the beginning, supporting her husband's career and helping navigate their whole family through the entertainment industry. Of course, that kind of lifestyle did take a toll on their marriage. Billy Ray told Us Weekly through his rep in 2013, "We've had rough times but we both realized we didn't want to be another statistic and wanted to make it work."

Sadly though, as of April 2022, the couple was in the headlines for their decision to part ways after almost 30 years of marriage. Despite their relationship coming to an end, they have been through a lot over their years together, overcoming many ups and downs, and doing so publicly. So let's take a closer look inside Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus' relationship, since at the very least by Hollywood standards, the two had a pretty good run.

You could say that Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus' relationship got off to a rocky start, as the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer did come with some baggage. First off, Billy Ray had just been married to another woman named Cindy Smith, who (due to a fight they'd had that inspired his music) was credited as his co-writer on "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" They divorced in 1991 after only five years of marriage (via Entertainment Weekly).

While Billy Ray was single when he got together with Tish shortly thereafter, he had another complication in that he was expecting a baby with another woman, South Carolina waitress Kristin Luckey. Tish revealed to ABC News how she found out, saying, "He came to me and...said that we needed to talk and he immediately thought that I would leave."

Despite Billy Ray's past romances, it was Tish who apparently captured his heart after the two met at a dance club. She recalled to People, "Do you know the first thing he said to me? 'I've never seen you drink, ever, and I think that's so cool.'" Tish explained that her friends had been wild and while she did party with Billy Ray, she claimed she eventually mellowed him out. Tish was also with Billy Ray before he really hit it big. In fact, he told People that he was homeless and sleeping in his car when they met. "It wasn't pretty," he admitted, proving Tish was his ride-or-die from the start.

It seems by 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus' relationship took a more serious turn after they welcomed their first child together, Destiny Hope Cyrus, who's always been known as Miley. That same year, Christopher Cody, Billy Ray's son with Kristin Luckey, was also born. ABC News reported that Cody and his mother lived a couple states away from Billy Ray in South Carolina.

It wasn't until Tish was expecting her and Billy Ray's second child together, Braison Cyrus, that they decided to make it official by getting married. However, at the time, his record company didn't feel that was a good career move. Billy Ray recalled to ABC News that he told them, "You know what, this train may come off the tracks, but I'm going to be a dad. I'm going to be a husband, and try to have something in my life that is right."

The couple could have had a typical lavish, celebrity wedding but instead opted to keep it simple, tying the knot in the living room of their Tennessee home. In 2018, Miley seemingly followed suit with her own at-home wedding to her now-ex Liam Hemsworth. Tish referred to the similarities in a now-deleted Instagram post, where she wrote, via People, "25 years ago today @billyraycyrus and I stood in our living room in Franklin Tn and said 'I Do'. I would definitely say everything has come full circle!"

Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus have a big blended family that even is occasionally referred to as a present-day "Brady Bunch." Not only did the couple welcome their two children, Miley and Braison, very soon after getting together, but Billy Ray went on to quickly adopt Tish's two other children from her previous relationship with ex-husband Baxter Neal Helson, Brandi and Trace (via The Sun). They later completed their family in 2000 with the birth of their youngest child, Noah Cyrus. 

While Brandi and Trace officially became part of the Cyrus family, that seemingly wasn't the case for Billy Ray's son from his previous relationship, Christopher Cody. The country crooner told ABC News in 2004, "In a perfect world, Cody would be living with me, and we'd all just be one happy family. But as we all know, it ain't a perfect world." Cody apparently saw things differently, telling the Mirror years later, "I don't have a relationship with them really."

The Cyrus kids have seemingly used their famous last name to their advantage by forging careers for themselves in the entertainment industry. For example, Trace, Braison, Noah, and obviously Miley have released their own music, and Brandi is a DJ who also hosts podcasts. Tish explained to People, "I think there's an interest surrounding our family; it's not just Miley, but it's Noah and me and Billy Ray and Brandi and Trace and everyone." She added, "People seem to love us, as a family, and I think it's really cool..."

When it comes to the Cyruses' Hollywood careers, it seemingly all started with Billy Ray Cyrus after he first rose to fame back in 1992 with his song "Achy Breaky Heart." He recalled to ABC News, "I absolutely felt my butt strapped to a rocket and was going around the world." However, at the time, Tish Cyrus struggled with her husband's new-found celebrity. She admitted, "1992 was one of the hardest years of my life just because of that change. ... And there was just women everywhere." Billy Ray, of course, went on to have a long and successful career not only in music, but as an actor.

Tish has apparently been just as busy, having worked as a producer and a manager for both Miley and Noah Cyrus. She dished on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast, "Yes, I'm their mom, but I manage them. I'm their manager, along with a team." She did point out that being a "momager" worked for them because she didn't do it for the money. She explained, "Billy Ray was so successful... So really being able to manage them but not need it to survive or need it financially was a huge difference."

Tish also dabbled in front of the camera with her own interior design-themed Bravo reality show, "Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design & Conquer." She revealed to People, "Over the years, I've been offered quite a few reality shows," adding, "Everybody knows I'm interior-design obsessed."

Despite their success as a family, in 2010, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus announced they were ending their marriage after 17 years. This wouldn't be the only time the couple made that decision, but it was the only time a divorce was initiated by Billy Ray (per CNN). According to People, he had cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason, but was vague as to what really caused their split. He and Tish did release a joint statement saying, "We are trying to work through some personal matters."

However, shortly after their divorce made headlines, the cheating rumors followed with Tish being accused of having an affair with Poison frontman Bret Michaels. An unnamed source told Us Weekly that Michaels and Tish had gotten very close when her daughter, Miley Cyrus, worked with him. The insider claimed, "Billy Ray was completely unaware of what was going on," but filed for divorce once he found out. 

Michaels denied the allegations, telling Page Six through his rep, "This is untrue. He respects the family and worked with Miley and Tish on a professional level." He later reiterated that statement when making an appearance on Fox News, saying: "​​It started out with me and Miley simply working on a song together. Her mom, Tish, likes 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn,' the first concert Miley ever saw was Poison, and so they wanted to remake it for the new record. ... Then they started with all the controversy" (via the New York Post).

The cheating rumor may not have been true, but Billy Ray Cyrus suggested that there were other factors contributing to his 2010 split from his wife, Tish Cyrus, in an interview with GQ. He blamed the Disney series "Hannah Montana," in particular, which he starred in alongside their daughter, Miley Cyrus. He recalled how hard it was for him to film the last season: "It was a disaster. I was going to work every single day knowing that my family had fallen apart." The dad famously stated, "I'll tell you right now — the damn show destroyed my family." 

Early in the interview, Billy Ray pointed out how Miley's subsequent fame from the show and the frequent scandals she kept finding herself in at the time had changed their family dynamic. It even led him to regret his approach to parenting. He admitted, "How many interviews did I give and say, 'You know what's important between me and Miley is I try to be a friend to my kids'?' ... I should have been a better parent."

Tish, however, had a different view on their daughter's antics. She revealed on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast, "Everybody thinks Miley, like, is this wild thing. ...there were those times where she was pushing the boundaries. We were arguing, and I was punishing her...just being full mama bear." Miley's teen fame and infamous scandals clearly affected her parents in different ways.

By 2011, Billy Ray Cyrus apparently realized he wasn't ready to throw in the towel when it came to his marriage with Tish Cyrus. While he initially blamed their split on their daughter Miley Cyrus' fame after "Hannah Montana," the "I Want My Mullet Back" singer decided to take some responsibility. Billy Ray told People, "It is very important to me to work on mending my family right now." He added, "We are working together to make sure our future is stronger and healthier."

Billy Ray later broke the news on "The View" that he and Tish were back together, revealing (via Insider), "I dropped the divorce. I wanted to put my family back together." He even claimed that he and Miley's relationship was back on track after the two were briefly estranged during his and Tish's split. "I feel like I kind of got my Miley back in a way. I feel like we're the daddy and daughter that we were before 'Hannah Montana' happened," he explained.

Billy Ray seemingly also regretted sharing too much about their divorce with GQ. He dished on the talk show, "At that time, my life was out of control. It was a dark mess." He even took back his negative "Hannah Montana" comments, telling the ladies of "The View," "I don't think 'Hannah Montana' ruined my family. Now fame, fame is a different animal" (via CBS News).

In 2013, only two years after their first split, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus once again decided to end their marriage. Us Weekly reports that the second time it was Tish who was the one who filed for divorce. Like her husband had done in the past, she cited "irreconcilable differences." "This is a personal matter and we are working to find a resolution that is in the best interest of our family," she explained in a statement.

Yet, just a month later, the couple changed their tune once again. Billy Ray revealed to Us Weekly, "We both woke up and realized we love each other and decided we want to stay together." He credited couple's therapy specifically, which is something they hadn't tried before. "It's brought us closer together and really opened up our communication in amazing ways," he dished.

Billy Ray also shared how they kept their long-standing marriage intact despite their break-ups. He told People, "You take it one step at a time. ... I think one of the most important things in life and in a relationship is, you make adjustments." Tish acknowledged that their fame had made that extra difficult. She told The Daily Dish, "You truly do have to take care of it and nurture it and really work hard at relationships. And that's not always easy, especially in the business that we're in." Regardless of their problems, it seemed the couple had always found their way back to each other.

Despite their best attempts to keep their family together, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus split for the third time in April 2022. Once again, it was Tish who filed for divorce, citing their usual reason of "irreconcilable differences," per Us Weekly. What appears to be different this time is, Tish revealed that she and Billy Ray weren't living together and hadn't for the past two years of their marriage. Tish even filed a restraining order that prohibited the parents from using derogatory language in front of their family, tormenting each other, or hiding and moving any marital belongings — suggesting they may not be on the best of terms. 

With stipulations like that, this split appears to be messier than those in the past. Yet, Billy Ray and Tish put a positive spin on it, explaining in their statement, per ET, "We will always be family and look forward to a continued and loving shared experience as friends and parents." They even added, "We have not come to this decision lightly or quickly," seemingly to clarify that this has probably been a long time coming and won't be called off like before.

Rumors surrounding their divorce started in December 2021, months before their announcement. That's mainly because Billy Ray was noticeably missing from the family's annual Christmas photo. Both Tish and Miley shared the photo with no mention of Billy Ray, causing several fans to ask in the comments, "Where's Billy Ray?"

Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus may be divorcing, but the two were married for almost 30 years. That's not only impressive for a Hollywood couple, but by real-life standards, too. The former couple had presumably tried to work through a lot of their problems over the years during their multiple reconciliations. Because of that, there's still a lot their children can take away from their relationship. Tish told The Daily Dish in 2017, "I hope...something that they've taken away from [it] is to just not give up."

Their daughter, Miley Cyrus, shared with Cosmopolitan what she's learned from their ups and downs in particular: "Nothing and no one stays the same." She added, "Grow, evolve, change with each other and celebrate your love's journey!" Although Miley probably can't relate to her parents' long-lasting marriage, she could understand their decision to divorce. A source told Hollywood Life, "Miley, more than any of her siblings, knows what it is like to be stuck in a marriage where neither of you is happy."

To refresh your memory, Miley had wed actor Liam Hemsworth in 2018 before divorcing the next year. In 2022, Miley congratulated fans on their engagement live at Lollapalooza, saying, "Honey, I hope your marriage goes better than mine. Mine was a f**king disaster" (via E! News). Because of her own experience, it seems Miley just wants her parents to be happy. That's why when it comes to her parents' split, the Hollywood Life insider claimed, "This is a relief to everyone, Miley included."

It's obvious that during their time together, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus were quite the power couple. In fact, according to Celebrity Net Worth, they are worth an estimated $20 million together. While a lot of that probably comes from Billy Ray's lucrative career in country music and as an actor, it appears Tish contributed to their fortune as well through her work as a producer. Let's not forget she once had her own Bravo TV show. But if you're wondering if they ever made money off Miley, Billy Ray told GQ, "I've never made one commissioned dollar, or dime, off of my daughter."

As for how the former couple has spent their millions, it appears some went to real estate, with them owning homes in both Los Angeles and Nashville. Tish described their houses to The Daily Dish, calling the Nashville home a cottage with white brick and saying of their L.A. abode, "One is very, like a hacienda. It was built in 1933, and it's just very cool." In 2021, Tish and Billy Ray shared renovations they made to their L.A. home with My Domaine, mere months before their split. 

It's unclear how exactly their divorce will impact their finances, but per Us Weekly, Tish asked that their assets be divided equally. All in all, even though Billy Ray and Tish are ending their marriage, it's clear they had quite the journey together as one of Hollywood's favorite couples.