Over the years Miley Cyrus has spoken highly of how her parents Billy and Tish took care of her during her Hannah Montana years. \u201cMy dad was on set every single day,\u201d Cyrus told Variety<\/a>. \u201cSo there was nothing that could happen that he wouldn\u2019t know about.\u201d She added that her parents also financially protected her, something not every child star can say. \u201cMy parents didn\u2019t need me to be famous to survive or to be stable,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat happens to a lot of these kids is their parents want it more than they do, or the kids become responsible for the entire income of the family. That was never my job. Every penny I ever made went into my bank account because my parents were good.\u201d <\/p>\n Despite their positive working relationship, Miley Cyrus<\/a> and Billy Ray Cyrus were estranged for years following the end of the Hannah Montana TV series and a complex family feud. Their well-documented rift is dated to Miley Cyrus\u2019s parents\u2019 divorce in 2022, but you could just as well say it dates back to the first days of Hannah Montana. The father and daughter reconciled in early 2025, but the Cyrus family drama remains almost as complex as the Beckhams\u2019. Below, we unpack why Miley Cyrus\u2019s parents joining her for the special is so meaningful.<\/p>\n Related: How To Watch The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special In Australia <\/a><\/p>\n 2006: Hannah Montana<\/p>\n From 2006 to 2011, Hannah Montana was the crown jewel of the Disney Channel empire, turning Miley into one of the most famous child stars in history. Billy Ray played a fictionalised version of himself \u2014 a retired country singer managing his daughter\u2019s pop star double life \u2014 a role Tish convinced Disney to cast him in when a casting director reportedly joked they couldn\u2019t afford Miley\u2019s real dad. \u201cOh, maybe you can,\u201d she quipped.<\/p>\n Life soon began to imitate art as fans embraced the show, and Miley Cyrus\u2019s star rose.<\/p>\n 2011: Billy Ray Cyrus\u2019s GQ Interview<\/p>\n In 2011, Billy Ray Cyrus gave a candid interview in a now-infamous GQ<\/a> profile in which he was blunt about the toll the show had taken on his family life. Sitting alone in his Tennessee mansion, shortly after filing for divorce from Tish, Billy Ray expounded on the show\u2019s legacy. \u201cOh, it\u2019s huge \u2014 it destroyed my family. I\u2019ll tell you right now \u2014 the damn show destroyed my family.\u201d Asked if he wished it had never happened, he replied: \u201cI hate to say it, but yes, I do. Yeah. I\u2019d take it back in a second.\u201d<\/p>\n Cyrus also expressed guilt about the way he had parented Miley during her years on Hannah Montana. \u201cI should have been a better parent. I should have said, \u2018Enough is enough \u2014 it\u2019s getting dangerous and somebody\u2019s going to get hurt.\u2019 I should have, but I didn\u2019t. Honestly, I didn\u2019t know the ball was out of bounds until it was way up in the stands somewhere.\u201d The interview painted a picture of a man who felt sidelined by his famous daughter\u2019s handlers, used as a PR shield whenever Miley hit the tabloids, and shut out of her life. When a video of Miley smoking salvia out of a bong seemed to leak and he tried to intervene, Cyrus said he was told it was \u201cnone of his business.\u201d \u201cNone of my business! I\u2019m her daddy!\u201d<\/p>\n 2013: Tish Cyrus Files For Divorce<\/p>\n Tish Cyrus initially filed for divorce from Billy Ray in June 2013, but the couple reconciled one month later \u2014 and would stay together another nine years.<\/p>\n 2022: Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus Divorce<\/p>\n In 2022, the Cyrus family\u2019s struggles became public when Billy Ray and Tish divorced. Miley explained on the Reclaiming podcast that she had \u201ca lot of loyalty\u201d to her mum, which led to a \u201creally difficult\u201d period of family separation. As she later told The New York Times, she had \u201ctaken on some of my mum\u2019s hurt\u201d amid the divorce, driving a wedge between her and her father. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, rumours that Miley was estranged from her father intensified after she failed to mention him during her acceptance speech and called her mother a \u201chero\u201d months later.<\/p>\n Years later, on the Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky<\/a> podcast, Miley described the situation plainly. \u201cHalf of us weren\u2019t speaking to each other at one point,\u201d she said, noting that she felt \u201ca lot of loyalty\u201d to her mum amid the end of her and Billy Ray\u2019s 27-year marriage. She added, \u201cIn that situation, I watched what happens when you don\u2019t clean things up as they\u2019re happening.\u201d<\/p>\n 2023: Billy Ray Cyrus Marries Firerose<\/p>\n Tish moved on swiftly, marrying Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell (59) in 2023. Miley and her older siblings Brandi (38) and Trace (37) were present at the wedding, but her younger siblings Braison (31) and Noah (26) were not.<\/p>\n Billy Ray\u2019s next chapter was considerably messier. He married Australian singer Firerose in October 2023, and the union unravelled within seven months. In June 2024, he filed for an annulment citing irreconcilable differences and \u201cinappropriate marital conduct.\u201d The divorce proceedings were acrimonious: as per Page Six<\/a>, Firerose accused Billy Ray of \u201cextreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse,\u201d while Billy Ray alleged she had made nearly $97,000 in unauthorised charges on his accounts and had actively tried to drive a wedge between him and his children. Firerose\u2019s parents came forward to defend Billy Ray, denying allegations he had tried to cut her off from her family.<\/p>\n Adding further fuel, leaked audio of Billy Ray and Firerose arguing went viral in July 2024. In the recording, first published by the Daily Mail, Billy Ray could be heard berating Firerose, calling her a \u201cselfish b\u2014h,\u201d before the audio cut to him seemingly talking about his family \u2014 during which, while appearing to refer to his children, he said \u201ceveryone knows devil\u2019s a skank.\u201d While some reports claimed this was directed at Miley, a source told Fox News Digital that the comment was not in reference to his daughter \u2014 and Billy Ray\u2019s team alleged the audio had been edited together from separate conversations. Miley\u2019s response was wordless but pointed: on the same day the recordings surfaced, she posted a photo embracing her mother Tish to Instagram. <\/p>\n 2025: Trace Cyrus Makes an Emotional Public Appeal<\/p>\n In January 2025, the family drama reached new heights when Billy Ray gave a technically plagued performance at President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration Liberty Ball \u2014 his guitar cut out mid-song, leaving him to sing an a cappella rendition of \u201cAchy Breaky Heart\u201d <\/a>to widespread ridicule online. Days later, his adopted son Trace Cyrus (35) published an open letter on Instagram that stopped just short of a public intervention. \u201cSince my earliest memories all I can remember is being obsessed with you and thinking you were the coolest person ever,\u201d Trace wrote. \u201cSadly the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognise now.\u201d <\/a>He added that the whole family had been \u201cgenuinely worried\u201d about Billy Ray for years, that he had pushed them all away, and that younger sister Noah, 26, had \u201cdesperately wanted\u201d her father to be part of her life to no avail. Rather than reaching out directly, Billy Ray responded by contacting a family member to inform Trace he was pursuing legal action against him for the post. <\/p>\n 2025: Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Reconcile<\/p>\n In 2025, Miley wrote a song called \u201cSecrets\u201d for her father \u2014 a peace offering featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, her dad\u2019s favourite band. In the song she sings: \u201cCall off all your forces \/ A white flag in the war.\u201d<\/p>\n Billy Ray wrote on Instagram that he cried when he heard it. \u201cOne great song can do more for the soul than a million therapy sessions.\u201d Miley told CBS Sunday Morning: \u201cMy dad cried. Everyone I say that to, they go, \u2018I remember when my dad cried.\u2019 You don\u2019t see your dad cry a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n By May 2025, Miley broke her silence about the family rift on Instagram, writing: \u201cMy dad and I have had our challenges over the years. Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I\u2019m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n 2025\u20132026: Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special<\/p>\n This brings us to the father-daughter appearance on the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. Since his split from Firerose, life seems to have been considerably calmer for Billy Ray. He started dating British actress Elizabeth Hurley (60), going Instagram official on Easter Sunday 2025 when Hurley shared a photo of the couple captioned \u201cHappy Easter \u2665\ufe0f.\u201d When Miley announced her engagement to boyfriend Maxx Morando (27) in late 2025, Billy Ray seemed ecstatic. He posted a photo of himself, Miley, and her godmother Dolly Parton on Instagram, writing: \u201cNo wonder you turned out so special\u2026 You have the greatest Godmother in the world!!! So happy you and MaxxAgazillion found each other!!!! Congratulations! Happy to see you both so happy!!! love Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n For her part, Miley has been open about how much the song \u201cSecrets\u201d means to both of them. \u201cThe fun thing about putting out music for someone that you love \u2014 it\u2019s adding onto his legacy by attaching this song to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the two are ready to dust off their cowboy boots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE RUNDOWN Miley Cyrus\u2019s parents Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus will both be appearing on the Hannah…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,13856,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-561018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-miley-cyrus","12":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/miley-and-billy-ray-cyrus-instagram-post-45-69c22e2b0657e.jpg\")
Image: Getty Billy Ray Cyrus with Miley in 1994.<\/p>\n![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/miley-and-billy-ray-cyrus--69c22e31b8f37.jpg\")
Image: Getty Billy Ray, Miley and Tish Cyrus reunited. <\/p>\n![\"Miley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/miley-and-billy-ray-cyrus-instagram-post-45-1-69c22eedc0c2f.jpg\")
Image: Getty Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus in 2006. <\/p>\n