Billy Ray Cyrus’ Ex-Wife Firerose Would Tell Her Younger Self to "Run" From Him
Firerose has a major regret when it comes to her achy breaky heart.
Months after she and Miley Cyrus' dad Billy Ray Cyrus finalized their divorce after 10 months of marriage, the Australian singer shared her thoughts on their past relationship, as well as what she would've told her younger self at the time the exes first met.
"When I think about what I just went through," Firerose told the Australian Sunday Telegraph's Stellar magazine in an Oct. 12 cover interview, "I would have told my 22-year-old self to run in the opposite direction and never look back."
Firerose (real name: Johanna Rosie Hodges), 36, said that she first met Billy Ray, 63, in 2010 after encountering his dog while leaving an audition on a Hollywood studio lot where his and Miley's Disney Channel series Hannah Montana was being filmed.
According to Firerose, she and the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer—who was almost 49 at the time—began hanging out after he asked for her phone number. She said they then lost touch for years until he reached out again after the start of the COVID pandemic, which began in 2020.
They worked together, releasing the single "New Day" in 2021, a song they recorded while he was separated from Miley's mother, Tish Cyrus . She would go on to file for divorce from Billy Ray in April 2022 and he and Firerose got engaged the following August.
The two married in October 2023. But their relationship soured, and Firerose said Billy Ray would give her the silent treatment at times and that she at one point Googled, "What does it mean when your husband refuses to talk to you like you don’t even exist – and then they come back after that and pretend nothing is wrong?"
Firerose also alleged she became increasingly isolated from her loved ones after she and Billy Ray began their relationship.
“My family and friends all had the same experience: me withdrawing and pushing them away," she said. "The way I experienced it was: ‘Oh, he’s just really protective.'"
She also said the "Old Town Road" singer told her, "You’re a Cyrus now. You can’t be going to church. You can’t be going to public places where people could follow you home. You’re going to be murdered."
E! News has reached out to Billy Ray's rep for comment on Firerose's remarks and has not heard back.
Billy Ray filed for divorce from Firerose this past May, in which he accused her of isolating him from his own family and creating a rift with his daughters. Citing "irreconcilable differences" and "inappropriate marital conduct" as the reason for their breakup, he also alleged that she was a "fraud" only interested in his last name to benefit her music career.
Through her rep, Firerose had denied Billy Ray's allegations at the time and alleged in her own filing that the musician subjected her to "extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse," which he denied.
The pair's divorce was finalized in August after they reached a settlement.
"Not only was it a web of lies that put me in physical danger, it was a matter of the heart," Billy Ray had later said in a statement. "Love is blind, that's for sure."
Look back at Billy Ray and Firerose's relationship...
Billy Ray Cyrus' first encounter with Firerose came when he was taking a break with his dog on the set of Hannah Montana, the hit Disney Channel series he starred on with his daughter Miley Cyrus from 2006 until 2011.
"On that given day, Firerose came out of the front door," the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer told People. "There was almost a moment of, I don't know, recognition. I was like, 'This girl's a star.'"
While Cyrus had no idea who Firerose, then 22, was at the time, his future fiancé definitely knew who he was. "Growing up in Australia, my love of music was predominant over everything," she said. "I've known his music since forever."
There for an audition, Cyrus offered to introduce Firerose to the Hannah Montana crew and invited her to watch the show's rehearsal.
"She met a lot of the cast and met the producers, writers," he said. "And, in some ways, well, in a lot of ways, we became friends."
While the duo stayed in touch—"Our friendship was so solid over the years," Firerose told People—their bond grew when they became songwriting partners during the pandemic.
"She plays all of her own instruments and writes her own songs," Cyrus explained. "We began sharing music, and it just evolved."
Cyrus and Firerose released their first song together "New Day," which they collaborated on amid Cyrus' private marital strife. Tish Cyrus filed for divorce for a second time in April 2022, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split and noting they hadn't lived together since February 2020.
"Billy confided in me a lot of what was going on in his life," Firerose explained. "I was just the best friend I could possibly be, supporting him."
After finalizing his divorce with Tish and "a lot prayer," Cyrus was ready to move on and asked Firerose to be more than friends.
"When we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist," Cyrus said. "Again, we're musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life."
Soon after they began dating, Firerose moved to Cyrus' Franklin, Tenn., farm.
Cyrus officially confirmed his relationship with Firerose when he posted the first selfie of the couple on his Instagram page.
"Wishing everyone a brilliant time at the @vmas tonight!" he captioned the pic. "Music changes everything."
Firerose also shared the photo on her page, using it to pay tribute to her boyfriend. "The world is a better place with you in it," she wrote on Aug. 25. "Happy Birthday Billy."
The pair celebrated the fall season with a cozy snap in front of a tree with orange and red leaves, but all eyes were on the diamond ring on Firerose's finger, fueling speculation that the couple was engaged.
The couple released their second collaboration "Time," with Cyrus describing the tune as a "reckoning."
"I've spent my life worried about things that are beyond my control," he told People. "But at this spot in my life, [I know] that all you really have is the happiness that you feel inside your mind and your heart."
After months of speculation, Cyrus' rep confirmed to E! News that he was engaged to Firerose.
"Together imagine magic everyday," Cyrus captioned a Nov. 22 selfie of the couple. "…that's what love is."
Firerose later detailed Cyrus' proposal, which happened in August at their Tennessee home.
"Billy looked at me and said, 'Do you, do you wanna marry me?' And I was just like, 'Of course I do. I love you,'" she recalled. "He said, 'I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.' "
The singers were "dreaming of a white Christmas" while celebrating the holidays together. To commemorate the season, the couple teamed up for a cover of "Silent Night."
While Cyrus captioned this snap "Sunsets were made for this," he and Firerose only had eyes for each other.
Despite reports of tension with his children following his divorce, Cyrus posted a photo with Firerose and his daughter Noah Cyrus after she announced her engagement to Pinkus.
As for how Miley Cyrus feels about her father's romance with Firerose, a source close to the "Wrecking Ball" singer previously told E! News, "The divorce between her parents have put a strain on her relationship with her dad and it's been hard to connect with him in the last year. She hopes they can eventually work on their relationship."
The insider added that while Miley "doesn't have a relationship" with Firerose, "she, of course, hopes [Billy Ray] is happy."
The engaged couple teamed up with songwriter Diane Warren for the romantic ballad "Plans," which Cyrus described as "the story of our lives" on Instagram.
The tune finds Cyrus and Firerose singing "Have you got plans for forever?" together in the chorus, with the music video featuring the pair in wedding attire.
The crooning couple made their official red carpet debut at the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors on Aug. 23, in Nashville. After posing for photos, Cyrus and Firerose took the stage together to perform with Travis Denning during the show.
Billy Ray and Firerose confirmed they tied the knot in October 2023 by sharing photos from their wedding day.
"10/10/23 will always be the beautiful, joyous day that our two souls united as one in holy matrimony," they wrote on Instagram. "It was the most perfect, ethereal celebration of love we could have ever imagined.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. Long Live Love!"
Seven months later, Billy Ray officially filed for divorce from Firerose.
The couple finalized their divorce after a two-month legal battle, their lawyers told TMZ.
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