Billy Ray Cyrus Says Wife Firerose Abused Him + He Has a Witness

Billy Ray Cyrus’ divorce from wife Firerose took another very public turn this week as he filed legal documents denying her abuse claims, saying it went the other way around.

The “Old Town Road” hitmaker says he was the one who was physically, verbally and emotionally abused. Her claims that say otherwise are mind boggling, he adds.

• Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose married in October 2023.
• He filed for divorce in May, but the public didn’t learn about it until June 10.
• Since then, he asked for a restraining order and she accused him of “extreme” abuse.

Related: 14 Shortest Marriages in Country Music History

Several media outlets got ahold of Cyrus’ response to Firerose’s abuse claims. People shares that Cyrus admits to being vocal, frustrated and angry with his wife last month, but “it is the plaintiff (Cyrus) who, in fact, has been abused.”

His manager Scott Adkins is listed as a witness to the abuse.

Firerose says Cyrus filed for divorce one day before she was set to get a double mastectomy. She is a carrier for the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increases the odds of breast cancer.

He counters (per TMZ) that the real surgery date was June 6, but she set May 24 as a means of attributing the divorce to her mastectomy, thus tarnishing his name.

In filing, Cyrus cited irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct. She denied the second claim.

He’s also asked that she be cut off from the use of his credit cards, saying she spent over $90,000 in the weeks since she filed. She said his claim about unauthorized expenses was untrue and she’s had access to that card for years.

The 62-year-old was previously married to Cindy Smith and Tish Cyrus. Firerose’s (real name: Johanna Rose Hodges) relationship history is less clear.

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he’s written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.