OK, sorry, what?! We knew Billy Ray Cyrus was dating a younger woman after his split with Tish Cyrus. But we didn’t realize how young!
Tish filed for divorce in April, and a scant five months later we learned Billy Ray had already moved on with an Aussie singer named Firerose (real name Elizabeth Rose). Just another month after that they’re already engaged, flaunting the ring on a shared Instagram post on Tuesday.
But it’s not like they’ve only been together a month — we noted way back last December, when there were rumors that Billy Ray and Tish had split again, how the Achy Breaky Heart singer had been posting a lot about Firerose. Of course, at the time she was known as his musical protegé as they collaborated on a song called New Day; it wasn’t clear there was anything else going on… yet.
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In addition to being unclear on how long the relationship’s been going, we’re also not 100% on the age gap. We had initially heard she was in her early 30s, but we’ve recently seen suggestions she might be as young as 28 — that’s a year younger than Miley Cyrus!
In a post-performance interview with Ryan Seacrest in August 2021 — remember, this was supposedly before the two were a couple, only a duet — Firerose offered up how she’d met Billy Ray “10 years ago on the set of Hannah Montana.” You can practically hear the audience awkwardly doing the math on that one…
OK, who was Firerose on Hannah Montana? It’s not on IMDB. Well, a few sources — who have NOT BEEN VETTED, mind you — have said she was an extra in Hannah Montana: The Movie, not the show. Not only that, they say she was only 14 years old at the time. The movie was filmed in the summer of 2008. If all that is accurate, she would only be 28 years old now, 29 at the outside. Reminder, he’s 61.
We still don’t know how much of this is accurate. Like we said, Firerose has been very private about her age, as is her prerogative as a woman in an industry that historically doles out some pretty gross judgments about that kind of thing.
But the idea of Billy Ray keeping in touch for years with a teenage girl, someone around his daughter’s age, and then eventually hooking up with her, well… unsurprisingly that’s got some folks online accusing him of grooming. Yeah.
Could that explain the massive falling out Miley had with her dad last month, when she unfollowed him on IG? A source told The Sun about the fight:
“Miley is all about peace but she didn’t agree with some things that her father has done. It has really escalated and they are not on good terms.”
Hmm. She “didn’t agree with some things that her father has done”? Those words take on a much darker significance now…
But have things cooled off between the father and daughter? On Thursday a new source spoke to E! News, saying it’s less cool and more cold:
“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.”
Won’t it be awkward for her to hang out with her dad and his new wife, when she’s, well, a peer?? The source says she “doesn’t have a relationship” with Firerose at all. Not surprising. The insider added:
“She, of course, hopes he is happy. But Miley has been closer to her mom Tish throughout the divorce.”
A second source agreed the former co-stars haven’t “been on the best terms,” adding that Miley has “taken space and felt that was the healthiest thing to do for right now.”
Is it just that she’s on her mom’s side? Or is she grossed out by the new relationship? What do YOU think, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Billy Ray Cyrus/Instagram/Disney/YouTube/MEGA/WENN.]
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