The Red Flags That Predicted Billy Ray & Tish Cyrus' Divorce

Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus' marriage was full of red flags that predicted their inevitable divorce. None was more obvious than the number of times Miley Cyrus' parents split before actually going their separate ways. Billy Ray first filed to end their marriage in 2010, with the two issuing a statement to People that read, "As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family. We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers." They called off the divorce and got back together though — at least for a while. Tish then filed in 2013, telling People, "This is a personal matter and we are working to find a resolution that is in the best interest of our family. We ask that you respect our privacy at this time." However, the two called off their divorce for a second time before filing for a third, and final, time in 2022.

A marriage, particularly one where children are involved, being so on/off is a major red flag. Samantha Burns, millennial love expert and author, told Bumble that constant breakups and makeups are "a huge emotional energy drain," noting, "This pattern just leads to hurt feelings, and the inevitable more permanent breakup." There's a reason it's only sometimes okay to get back with your ex, after all. And there are plenty of other red flags that made it clear the Cyrus' marriage was doomed from the start.

Both Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus have been open about how much fame impacted their relationship. In a 2004 ABC News interview, Tish shared that she met Billy Ray before he found success as a country singer (his 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart" is certified Platinum in the US) and she struggled with his fame. "1992 was one of the hardest years of my life just because of that change," she said, referring to the huge success of "Achy Breaky Heart." "He was playing to 50, 60, 100,000 people, you know? And there was just women everywhere," she added, with Billy Ray sharing he made the purposeful decision to slow down his career to focus on his family.

However, the spotlight on the Cyrus family vastly intensified again 18 years later when Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus (who would go on to have her own post-divorce style transformation) began starring in the Disney Channel juggernaut "Hannah Montana." In a candid 2011 GQ interview, Billy Ray boldly said of the show, "It destroyed my family. I'll tell you right now — the damn show destroyed my family." He even wished they'd never appeared on the series, admitting, "I'd take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just be everybody okay, safe and sound and happy and normal, would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I'd erase it all in a second if I could." Intense fame and attention can have a major impact on even the strongest relationship. Not only can it put a lot of pressure on the person courting fame (which means less time spent with their partner) but it could also stir feelings of abandonment, jealousy, or resentment.

Billy Ray Cyrus was plagued by wandering eye allegations amid his marriage to Tish Cyrus. The first eyebrow raiser came when Tish fell pregnant with Miley Cyrus — at the same time another woman was pregnant with Billy Ray's child. Tish spoke to ABC News about how Billy Ray told her, sharing, "He came to me and just, you know, said that we needed to talk and he immediately thought that I would leave." The two didn't clarify the timelines of the pregnancies and didn't share if either relationship was considered cheating, but that's not the only time Billy Ray's dalliances have been questioned.

Billy Ray went Instagram official with Elizabeth Hurley in 2025, but the two met in 2022 while working on the holiday movie "Christmas in Paradise." "Tish had her thoughts and suspicions at the time that he was cheating on her with Liz, but Billy Ray flat out denied it," a source told Daily Mail. "They got very close on the set and seeing that they are together now is a slap in the face for Tish, but it also confirms that she was likely right about her suspicions. They never stopped being in contact," they added.

Then there was Billy Ray's ill-fated relationship with his former wife Firerose (the two were married from October 2023 until August 2024). Firerose claimed to Page Six that Billy Ray told her he and Tish weren't together when they started dating and asked her not to discuss their relationship in public. However, Firerose later found out he was still married. "I would never ever have entered into a relationship with a married man, but he was such a great manipulator," she said.

Tish Cyrus got very candid about the demise of her marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus on "Call Her Daddy" in 2024 [37:42], admitting she stayed with the musician for the wrong reasons. "It had not been in a good place for a long time," she said of their relationship pre-divorce. "And I think I did stay so long out of fear, literal fear of being alone," she added. There are multiple signs of being in a relationship just to avoid being alone, and it's not a valid reason for staying with someone if it no longer feels right. Tish also claimed [41:58] they reconciled so many times because she didn't want to divorce while their youngest child, Noah Cyrus, was young. "But looking back on it, it would have been much better for her had I left," she admitted.

Tish further revealed during an appearance on "Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson" that year that she stayed married because she didn't want to be a divorcee [11:10]. She added, "For us, you're in the public eye and the world that we exist in is already so, kind of, odd and at sometimes unstable, I wanted to make it work. Probably for a little too long. Like, for my own mental health." She elaborated to People, "I get why women are scared to leave, not only bad relationships, [but to] step into new careers and all these things. And I was literally terrified." But, as scary as divorce can be, it should always be an option. Albeit a last resort, divorce can have multiple benefits, from allowing both partners to be better parents, to helping those in the relationship to improve their physical and mental health.

When Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus got together, she was already a mom to two children, Brandi Cyrus and Trace Cyrus, from a previous relationship. Billy Ray adopted Brandi and Trace in 1993, but the latter made it very clear his relationship with his adoptive father soured toward the end of Billy Ray and Tish's marriage. In 2025, Trace shared a scathing, since deleted, Instagram post about the country star in which he suggested family was far from his priority. "This man is so hungry for fame, it's pathetic. He really flew to Italy for a fashion show but wouldn't come to LA for Mammie's funeral while he was still married to my mom," he wrote (via Fox News). "Even after his daughter got him a 60k private jet like he demanded then he still didn't come after the plane was paid for," Trace continued. Tish's mom passed away in 2020, two years before she filed for divorce.

Trace continued, "You're the lamest man to ever walk planet earth. Honestly embarrassed to have ever considered you my idol. The best thing to come from your downfall is it made me go into beast mode. I refuse to be a washed up, delusional, evil person when I'm old like you." Navigating a blended family can be tough, and it's not surprising Tish and Billy Ray's relationship didn't go the distance if her children had such a fractious relationship with their adoptive father.