Billy Ray Cyrus Confirms He’s Engaged to ‘Musical Soul Mate’ Firerose
Billy Ray Cyrus is engaged! The 61-year-old country singer and actor tells People that he is set to marry 34-year-old Australian singer Firerose, confirming rumors that have been swirling for weeks.
Who Is Billy Ray Cyrus' Fiancee, Firerose?
Firerose is a singer-songwriter who originally hails from Sydney, Australia. She grew up in a family of symphony musicians. Firerose is best-known for her collaborations with Billy Ray Cyrus.
How Did Billy Ray Cyrus Meet His Fiancee, Firerose?
Cyrus and Firerose first met on the set of Hannah Montana a little more than a decade ago, and they've stayed in touch ever since. Their working relationship dates back to at least the summer of 2021. They released a collaboration titled "New Day" in August of that year, and the singer-songwriter often posted pictures and videos with Cyrus to promote the release. Firerose moved to his farm outside of Nashville in the early summer of 2022, and he proposed to her in August.
How Did Billy Ray Cyrus Propose to Firerose?
It was not a traditional proposal, she says; the country singer had no ring and did not get down on one knee.
"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 recalls. "He said, 'I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.'"
How Long Have Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose Been Dating?
A source confirmed to People in September that Cyrus and Firerose had been dating for "a little while," but didn't start seeing each other until after Cyrus' divorce from Tish Cyrus, his wife of 28 years.
"They grew close while working on music together. It is what it is." that source said. "He and Tish were over before he started dating her."
Is Billy Ray Cyrus Divorced?
Tish Cyrus filed for divorce from the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer in April, citing irreconcilable differences. According to documents TMZ first reported, the couple hadn't lived together in more than two years before the divorce filing. It was the third time they had filed for divorce over the course of their long marriage.
Firerose tells People that while she and Cyrus were working on music together in 2021, "Billy confided in me a lot of what was going on in his life. I was just the best friend I could possibly be, supporting him."
Cyrus says he asked Firerose to take their friendship to a romantic level after "a lot of prayer" after the dissolution of his marriage. The timing could not have been better; in addition to his marriage crumbling and the continuing pandemic, Cyrus' mother was dying at the time, and he found a support system in his new relationship.
"There was sickness and death, and hard times," Cyrus shares. "All of the sudden, the life that I've always known as a touring artist didn't exist anymore. A moment of so much change. And at the same time, Firerose, who had been such a light of positivity, such a best friend. And then 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. Again, we're musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life."
He turns tearful as he tells People that the up-and-down nature of that time period is normal for a person whose life seems to always have extreme ups and downs.
"Finding Firerose and getting engaged and then losing my mom [a few weeks later] — see? The teeter-totter will not stay in the middle," he observes. "But having somebody to ride it out with now — that's giving me a little more balance."
Rumors of an engagement circulated online in September after Cyrus and Firerose posted pictures that showed her wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring. Another set of photos in October prompted even more intense speculation.
When Are Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose Getting Married?
The couple have not yet announced their wedding plans.