Hollywood was left stunned when it was revealed that Billy Ray Cyrus had filed for divorce from his third wife Firerose after just seven months of marriage – but the claims that have been made during the fallout are even more shocking.
Billy Ray, 62, filed for divorce from Firerose, real name Johanna Rose Hodges, 35, last month, citing irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct. But the documents show the Achy Breaky Heart hitmaker is also seeking an annulment on the grounds of fraud.
It was reported that Firerose has moved out of Billy Ray's home, and he will pay her $5000 (£3926.95) for three months to help her find a suitable housing arrangement.
But days after their divorce was made public, proceedings took a very messy turn as it came to light that Billy Ray had filed for a temporary restraining order to stop Firerose from accessing his money – accusing her of credit card fraud which totalled to $96,986.05 (£76,171.87) between the day he filed for divorce on May 23 and June 7.
He claims that Firerose overcharged his card without his knowledge and never gave her access to his cards or accounts during their marriage. According to reports, the charges include "several flights, Venmo payments, over $50k to law firm and $10k to the United States Treasury." The law firm has paid $45,000 back to Billy Ray, claiming that they accidentally overcharged $50,000 to the account instead of an agreed $5,000.
A source tells Closer, "Billy Ray and Firerose are in a very toxic place right now, he’s in the process of trying to extricate himself from this mess but he’s bitterly upset. He’s accusing her of all sorts of things from fraud to cheating, but she’s defending herself and saying none of it is true and he’s just being a bully.
"It’s all very ugly but the way things are going it’s got the potential to get a whole lot worse for him. The talk now is that she’s going to hit back really hard by laying bare all the sordid secrets he shared with her about himself and his entire family."
Billy Ray was previously married to Tish Cyrus for 29 years before they divorced in 2022. The pair welcomed three children – daughters Miley and Noah and son Braison – during their relationship, with Billy Ray also adopting Tish’s children, Brandi and Trace, from a previous relationship.
The source continues, "He completely trusted her and confided everything, and not just about himself, about Miley, about Noah, about Tish. She’s got a lot of dirt that she can spill that would make things very embarrassing for all of them. If he thinks he’s got an axe to grind now over her racking up his credit cards, just wait until she signs a tell-all deal. Fact is she stands to make a massive payday and if he keeps pushing her this way it’s hard to imagine she won’t take the money that’s being dangled.”
Following Billy Ray's plea for a restraining order, Firerose filed a counter complaint, accusing the country singer of "extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse." She also denied being guilty of inappropriate marital conduct, claiming that Billy Ray's "persistent drug use" made him "unpredictable and volatile" and "unsafe" to live with.
Billy Ray's legal team were quick to hit back, saying Firerose's claims were "especially confusing and suspicious in its veracity since she begged him to forgive her and take her back only two days after he filed his pleadings to dissolve his marriage."
Our source adds, "Firerose has had an awful lot of crap being thrown at her from every angle since he came out with all his accusations, and it’s got her pretty upset. He may feel justified in all of this, but he’s not doing himself, or his family, any favours in the long run by antagonising her. Contrary to what’s being spread around about Firerose, she’s actually a pretty decent person and did not come out of the break-up with plans to sell him out, but the way things are going there’s no doubt she’s being pushed in that direction.
"He’s painting this picture of her that’s so completely one-sided, her name is getting dragged through the mud, who could blame her if she wanted to defend herself? Certainly, a lot of her friends are telling her she should give her own interview, at the very least, since she has plenty to say. Even if she chose to take the high road and not reveal everything he shared with her about his family, plenty of people would be interested in what she saw and experienced first-hand while married to Billy Ray. The way her friends tell it, that could fill a book on its own.
"Billy Ray is not an easy guy to be married to, that’s just the reality, as Tish found out for herself. He’s hot headed and self-involved, even Miley has come out and admitted she learned her narcissistic behaviour from him. But Billy Ray doesn’t see things that way, he very much sees himself as the victim in all of this
and he’s going after Firerose guns blazing."
Billy Ray and Miley have a tumultuous relationship, and the Flowers singer seems to have taken her mum's side in their divorce. While Miley walked Tish down the aisle at her August 2023 wedding to Dominic Purcell, she did not attend Billy Ray's wedding to Firerose two months later.
She recently said of their relationship, "There’s a map of what to do and what not to do, and he’s guided me on both. I also inherited the narcissism from my father.”
"No doubt he’s hurting, he turned his life upside down for her and it’s not turned out well at all," the source continues. "But considering everything Firerose has seen and heard he would be wise to back off and find a way to make a deal that keeps her happy, and quiet, for everyone’s sake."