Inside Billy Ray Cyrus' Relationship With Firerose

Billy Ray Cyrus has had a long career in show business that has spanned three decades. The Flatwoods, Kentucky native had skyrocketed to fame back in 1992 with his catchy single, "Achy Breaky Heart" and from there went on to become a full-blown country music superstar. He even transitioned into acting in movies like "Christmas in Canaan." All the while, he managed to stay relevant later in his career by partnering with up-and-coming artists like Lil Nas X, on their 2019 smash hit, "Old Town Road." 

Billy Ray has often been pretty open with what's going on in his personal life, especially since his entire family is part of the entertainment industry. Of course, one of his daughters is the super famous, Miley Cyrus, with whom he starred on the Disney show, "Hannah Montana." That's probably why fans want to know how he went from being married to Miley's mom, Tish Cyrus, for almost 30 years to getting engaged to a somewhat unknown Australian singer known as Firerose. 

By all accounts, Billy Ray doesn't mind sharing about that either, telling People that their creative kinship blossomed into romance. "It just evolved more into [us] as musical soulmates, to soulmates. [A] happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist." So how did the couple arrive to this happy, pure love place and how do the rest of the Cyrus family feel? Let's break down Billy Ray Cyrus' relationship with Firerose from the beginning.

Despite their apparent 27-year age gap, Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose definitely share music in common. They both even realized that it was their passion during childhood, with the Australian musician recalling to The Tennessee Star, "I would get home from school and write a song about my day." Cyrus told Risen Magazine about his early experiences too, saying, "When I was a kid, I would get up and sing with my dad's Gospel quartet and I loved singing." They both also taught themselves how to play instruments, with Firerose learning the piano. "I didn't know the names of the chords but I felt it and I played by ear," she said. Cyrus did pretty much the same with the guitar, dishing, "[I] bought a left-handed guitar, and the moment I picked it up I realized that I actually could play."

Most importantly, the couple shares a love for how music makes them feel. While Firerose told The Tennessee Star that she used music to connect to others — creating sounds that made the listener feel how she does about the music, Cyrus told Risen that his musical urges felt similarly instinctual. "I've just always loved making music for the pure passion of making music," he explained. As Cyrus tells it, his fiancee has what it takes to enjoy the same success he has. He gushed to American Songwriter, "Firerose is the very definition of persistence, combined with a tremendous amount of talent as a songsmith, vocalist, and producer."

It appears that both Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose had helped each other get through some difficult times. For Billy Ray, that was his divorce from his wife of 28 years, Tish Cyrus. The two had split twice before but apparently decided to end their rocky relationship for good in April 2022, explaining in a joint statement published by ET, "We have decided to go our separate ways — not with sadness, but with love in our hearts." However, Billy Ray later hinted to People that the divorce was harder than they'd made it sound. When it came to moving on, he dished, "[It] took a lot of prayer. A lot."

Of course, Cyrus did move on with Firerose, who had been there for him during his breakup. She told People, "Billy confided in me a lot of what was going on in his life." She continued, "I was just the best friend I could possibly be, supporting him." Later, she apparently also helped him get through his mother's death too. He shared with the outlet, "Having somebody to ride it out with now — that's giving me a little more balance."

By all accounts, he seemed to be just as supportive of Firerose through her own hardships. As the performer told Authority Magazine, the couple wrote their song, "New Day," to help pull her out of a dark time. While she didn't elaborate on why that was, it seems they both made it through that challenging time together.

Between their age gap and celebrity status, it's obvious that Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose don't have an average relationship. So it's hardly surprising that their engagement was unconventional too. That's because Cyrus seemingly just flat-out asked Firerose to marry him without even having a ring. The Australian singer recalled to People, "Billy looked at me and said, 'Do you wanna marry me?' And I was just like, 'Of course I do. I love you.'" While the "Busy Man" singer didn't get down on one knee either, Firerose knew he was serious, adding, "He said, 'I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.'"

That proposal happened in August 2022 but the couple didn't officially confirm their engagement until November. Still, Firerose didn't exactly try to hide her engagement ring on Instagram, even if they were waiting to share the news. In fact, it was a post of the songwriter wearing the rock that started the engagement rumors back in September, with fans congratulating them in the comments. 

While the couple later posted a closer photo of the ring that October, they still didn't technically affirm that they were betrothed, writing in the caption, "Happy Autumn." Nevertheless, that ring got people's attention. Speaking to Page Six, engagement ring expert, Zack Stone, estimated that the ring looked to feature a 5-carat round diamond and was estimated to be worth up to $220 thousand.

Billy Ray Cyrus may have found happiness with his fiancee, Firerose, but Miley Cyrus is allegedly not fond of the relationship. A source revealed to The Sun, "Not everyone sees his decision to move on so quickly in the same light ...There has been some tension with Miley." That may be due to speculation that Billy Ray began dating Firerose when he was still married to Miley's mother, Tish Cyrus. However, a source told People, "He and Tish were over before he started dating her."

An insider told E! News that it may have ultimately been Billy Ray and Tish's divorce which damaged his relationship with the "Wrecking Ball" singer as she grew closer to her mother. After that, Miley and her dad allegedly became estranged and even unfollowed each other on social media. Billy Ray acknowledged to People that his divorce and subsequent relationship with Firerose may have been difficult on his kids. However, he defended himself by insisting, "Everyone knew ... that relationship was over a long time ago ... It's been a lot, but everyone knew that it was time for a change."

While Miley didn't publicly congratulate her dad on his engagement, there's hope they'll reconcile. A source told E! News, "​​She, of course, hopes he is happy ... [and] hopes they can eventually work on their relationship." As for the rest of the family, another source told The Sun, "His other kids do not ­have an issue with him."