Jeff Kravitz / Contributor; Denise Truscello / Contributor
Achy Breaky Heart! Tish Cyrus Reveals She Had ‘Complete Mental Breakdown’ After Billy Ray Divorce
Don’t break her “Achy Breaky Heart”! Tish Cyrus, the ex-wife of Billy Ray Cyrus and mother of Miley Cyrus, opened up about grieving her relationship with Billy Ray, 62, and the death of her mother during the same year.
“It was so crazy because, honestly, my two biggest fears in life were always being alone and my mom passing away,” Tish, 56, told “Call Her Daddy” host, Alexandra Cooper, about her 2022 divorce during the podcast’s Tuesday, February 6, episode.
The film producer continued, “I was like, ‘I just don’t know if I’ll survive when my mom dies.’ Like, honestly. And I had, like, one month of a, honestly, complete psychological breakdown. It was the worst thing — like, honestly. It was not good.”
Tish admitted that her grief became so severe at one point, she even considered seeking treatment at a mental health treatment facility, but that her psychiatrist advised her against it. However, her emotional distress continued, with Tish saying that she lost weight due to being unable to eat or sleep.
“I don’t have my mom, and then I don’t have my husband that’s been my husband for 30 years. Like, holy crap, I’m scared,” she recalled.
Despite the rough period, Tish told Alexandra, 29, that their split “worked out for the best.” Not long after her divorce, Tish met actor Dominic Purcell, and the two wed in August 2023. Only two months later, Billy Ray also remarried, tying the knot with Australian musician Johanna Rosie Hodges, who goes by the stage name “Firerose,” that October.
Tish and her daughter Brandi Cyrus, who was also present during the “Call Her Daddy” interview, were quick to deny that Miley, 31, and Billy Ray’s starring roles on the Disney Channel original series Hannah Montanta “destroyed” their family, as Billy Ray had claimed during a 2011 interview with GQ.
“Absolutely not,” Tish insisted. Brandi, 36, chimed in, “Not at all … I mean the family’s not destroyed, first of all.” Tish explained that she actually encouraged Billy Ray’s participation in the show, which began filming when Miley was only 13 years old, so that their “family could be together.”
The Cyrus matriarch added about her ex-husband’s comment, “I just think he was having a moment.”
And despite Miley notably leaving her dad out of her Grammys acceptance speech after her second win of the night on Sunday, February 4, Brandi added about her famous family, “We’re doing great.”
