Billy Ray Cyrus shares emotional reaction to daughter Miley Cyrus’ name change
Billy Ray Cyrus has spoken out after his daughter Miley Cyrus debuted a bold new name for her 'new era'.
The father-daughter duo, who have recently reconnected after years of speculated estrangement, became close again because of the power of music.
Speaking of how the medium helped repair things, Billy Ray said earlier this year: "It's been so good. That's our lifeblood and how we communicate.
"Since she was a baby, she's been on this ride and seen the peaks and valleys and knows when you're in this business it's all a circus, and at some point, hopefully you get to play in the big top.”
Advert
Miley has since dropped her surname, a move Billy Ray has reacted to.
Taking to Instagram to share a throwback picture of the Hannah Montana star with her brother, Braison, Billy Ray admitted 'family means more than ever now'.
"I always called my little girl Miley. Just … Miley. Just like I always called my little boy Braison," he wrote in the caption to the social media post.
'It’s a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend'
The 'Achy Breaky Heart' singer went on to say that he's spoken to Miley this week and told her he 'felt good about her going with her first name'.
He continued: "I mentioned Dolly [Parton] and Cher. Thinkin’ about it more and more … Elvis … Prince … and so on. It’s a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend."
To conclude the social media post, Billy Ray expressed his excitement for Miley's upcoming studio album.
Fans spotted in recent days that Miley has seemingly ditched her famous last name, as her website's URL is now 'mileyofficial.com' and the home page just has 'Miley' on it.
Earlier this year, Billy Ray insisted his relationship with his daughter 'has never been better', while Miley spoke about their up-and-down association during a sit-down interview with the New York Times in 2025.
Asked whether she was estranged from her father, Miley said: "No. I think timing is everything.
'I can love them both as individuals instead of as a parental pairing'
"As I've gotten older, I'm respecting my parents as individuals instead of as parents, because my mom's really loved my dad for her whole life, and I think being married to someone in the music industry and not being a part of it is obviously really hard.”
She went on to say that seeing her parents move onto different relationships has shifted her perspective on the situation.
“I think I took on some of my mom's hurt as my own because it hurt her more than it hurt me as an adult, and so I owned a lot of her pain,” the 'Wrecking Ball' singer added.
“But now that my mom is so in love with my stepdad, who I completely adore, and now that my dad, I see him finding happiness, too, I can love them both as individuals instead of as a parental pairing.”
What exactly happened between Miley and Billy Ray?
Reports have swirled for years about the on-off estrangement between the father-daughter duo, with fan speculation only pouring fuel on the fire. But what exactly happened between the pair?
During a February 2011 interview with GQ, Billy Ray revealed Hannah Montana began to tear his family - and his relationship with Miley - apart.
"The business was driving a wedge between us," he said. "How many interviews did I give and say, ‘You know what’s important between me and Miley is I try to be a friend to my kids?'
"I said it a lot. And sometimes I would even read other parents might say, 'You don’t need to be a friend, you need to be a parent'. Well, I’m the first guy to say to them right now: You were right."
Billy Ray divorced from Miley's mom, Tish, in 2022 after years of an on-again-off-again marriage. Miley seemed to distance herself from Billy Ray during this time, and seemingly wasn’t in close contact with him as he got engaged to Australian country singer Firerose in August 2022.
They married in October 2023, which only lasted seven months.
This distancing was then put on full display in 2024 when Billy Ray wasn't mentioned in Miley's Grammys acceptance speech, with singer only thanking her mom and sister.
However, since then, things seemed to have repaired themselves between Billy Ray and Miley, with the latter writing the song 'Secrets' and gifting it to her dad for his 64th birthday last August.
Topics: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Celebrity
Callum Jones