For the third time, I’m calling it quits. After nearly 30 years of marriage, Tish Cyrus has filed for divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus.
Tish, 54, filed for divorce in Williamson County, Tennessee, on Wednesday, April 6, citing “irreconcilable disagreements,” according to court documents acquired by Us. The actress stated in her petition that she and the 60-year-old singer of “Achy Breaky Heart” had resided in separate dwellings and had not “cohabited as man and wife for a continuous period of more than two years.” Tish also asked for an “equitable division and distribution of all marital assets” and for her separate property to be awarded.
The Tennessee native also filed a restraining order for their marital property, which prohibits her and Billy Ray from transferring or concealing any of their assets and forbids them from harassing or criticizing one another in front of their children.
Billy Ray was obviously absent from the family’s holiday celebrations this year, prompting some observant fans to inquire about her father’s whereabouts on Miley Cyrus’ Christmas Instagram post.
The couple, who have five children together: Miley, 29, Brandy, 34, Trace, 33, Braison, 27, and Noah, 22, have split up twice before. Billy Ray filed for divorce in October 2010 but dropped the case in March 2011. During an interview on The View at the time, the Hannah Montana alum revealed, “I’ve dropped the divorce.” “I want to re-establish my family… “This is the greatest it’s ever been.”
The producer, though, filed her own divorce papers two years later, citing “irreconcilable disagreements” at the time. In a statement to Us in June 2013, Tish said, “This is a personal concern, and we are attempting to reach a resolution that is in the best interest of our family.” “At this time, we ask that you respect our privacy.”
“We both woke up and realized we love each other and decided we want to stay together. We both went into couples therapy something we haven’t done in 22 years of being together, and it’s brought us closer together and really opened up our communication in amazing ways,” the “Old Town Road” performer’s rep said in a statement at the time. “Tish also said marriage can be really hard, especially after 22 years of being in entertainment. We’ve had rough times but we both realized we didn’t want to be another statistic and wanted to make it work.”
In December 1993, Tish and Billy Ray married in their homeroom in Franklin, Tennessee. Miley Cyrus followed in their footsteps by marrying Liam Hemsworth in the same location in December 2018, however, the couple divorced only seven months later. (Miley is now dating drummer Maxx Morando, and Hemsworth, 32, has been dating model Gabriella Brooks since December 2019.)
Billy Ray admitted to GQ after his first breakup with Tish that he had become estranged from Miley in the years since Hannah Montana ended. At the time, the Dancing with the Stars alum remarked, “The darn program killed my family.” “Everything is depressing.”
In June 2013, Miley hinted at the family tension via Twitter. “Billy Ray Cyrus, since your text and email obviously aren’t working would you like to talk like this?” she asked. Despite her pointed message, Billy Ray had told E! News in April of that year that he and the “We Can’t Stop” singer had a close bond: “I like right now just being her daddy and her friend. I like where our relationship is at right now. I’m very proud of her.”