Billy Ray Cyrus offered his ex-wife Tish Cyrus rare praise in honor of Mother’s Day this year, despite ongoing family feud speculation.
“Tish Cyrus was and is the very definition of a strong mother,” he wrote via Instagram on Sunday, May 11. “Trust me, I’m the first to admit being married to me was not easy. I’m very good at making mistakes.”
Billy Ray, 63, further called himself a “very imperfect man” all while Tish, 57, held down the fort with their five children.
“Thank goodness, somewhere along the line my mama also taught me ‘life is a series of adjustments,’” Billy Ray added. “I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Funny how history repeats itself. Full circle.”
After Billy Ray and Tish divorced in 2022, rumors swirled that the family was estranged. Daughter Miley Cyrus, 32, shut down the speculation in an impassioned statement on Saturday, May 10.
“My dad and I have had our challenges over the years,” Miley wrote via Instagram Stories. “Now, in my 30s, family is my priority above all else. I’m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing.”
She added, “Grateful for the good health and love that flows through my family.”
The former Disney Channel star also responded to the false allegations that Tish intentionally unfollowed her on social media earlier this month.
“I rarely comment on rumors, but my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us,” Miley said. “She’s my best friend. Like a lot of moms, she doesn’t know how to work her phone and somehow unfollowed me — simple, coincidental and uninteresting.”
In his own statement, Billy Ray reacted to Miley’s message.
“I’m so proud of Miley and her guts and courage,” Billy Ray added of the Grammy winner. “Her wisdom and strength to bring it when our family needed it most. We are so close to full healing. We have all been through a lot.”
The “Achy Breaky Heart” musician also offered a celebratory Mother’s Day greeting to “all #StrongMothers out there.”
“Here’s a couple that made our family who and what we are: My mom Ruthie, who loved Willie, and her mama Mary, who was born with the musical gift and passed it down to all of us in the family, who play music by ear,” Billy Ray added. “Thank God she did ‘cause I can’t read a note.”
He continued, “I still very much believe in the power of prayer and respectfully ask if you do also, and have an extra prayer for the Cyrus family, I humbly would accept.”
