Tish Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus. Getty Images (2)
Tish Cyrus is reflecting on her marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus and how she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel until she had to.
“I never wanted to be divorced,” Tish, 57, said during the Monday, November 25, episode of Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson‘s “Sibling Revelry” podcast, noting that her own parents’ decades-long marriage served as the inspiration behind wanting a lengthy union.
She continued, “[But] for us, you’re in the public eye and the world that we exist in is already so odd, and at some times unstable. I wanted to make it work, probably for a little too long, like, for my own mental health. There became a point that, like, I didn’t have a choice.”
Tish went on to tell the Hudson siblings that her 2022 split from the “Achy Breaky Heart” singewas “tough on everyone,” even though their kids were adults when they went their separate ways for good. (The exes, who tied the knot in 1993, previously filed for divorce in 2010 and 2013, but reconciled. Together they share daughters Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, and son Braison Cyrus. Tish also has two children from a previous relationship, daughter Brandi Cyrus and son Trace Cyrus, both of whom Billy Ray, 63, adopted.)
“I was an only child and had the best upbringing and best parents and never went through anything like that. So I don’t really know how it affects you, but… it was definitely something that was probably hard on them, no matter how you do it,” Tish explained. “And I think that we did it really well. I think I did really well, and I do think that I just wanted it to be the easiest as possible for everyone involved.”
Brandi, 37, who cohosts the “Sorry We’re Cyrus” podcast with her mom and also appeared on Monday’s “Sibling Revelry” episode, echoed Tish’s sentiment.
“It was not great, but also, we’re all old enough to understand it,” she said. “We’re able to zoom out and see it for what it was.”
After Tish and Billy Ray’s split in April 2022, Tish began dating Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell in July that year.
“She truly feels like she found her soulmate,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2023. “[She] feels so blessed that they found each other.”
Purcell, 54, popped the question to the Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design and Conquer cohost in April last year, and the duo tied the knot in an intimate ceremony four months later in Malibu. (Earlier this year, Us broke the news that Noah, 24, had been involved with Purcell when her mom started dating him. A source previously told Us that Noah and Purcell were involved for “about eight to nine months” but were “having issues.”)
For his part, Billy Ray moved on with singer Firerose, with whom he collaborated on a song in 2021. They confirmed their relationship in October 2022 by announcing their engagement via Instagram, and wed in October the following year.
After less than a year of marriage, Billy Ray filed for an annulment from Firerose, citing irreconcilable differences and “inappropriate marital conduct.” The exes’ date of separation was listed as May 22, 2024, seven months after they wed.
The former spouses finalized their divorce in August, Us confirmed.