Firerose opened up about her painful relationship with her estranged husband Billy Ray Cyrus in a recent interview. The Australian singer and Miley Cyrus’ father were heading for a bitter divorce after just seven months of marriage. Speaking to Page Six, the 36-year-old said the Words By Heart singer had imposed “very strict rules” on her.
The inside story of Firerose and Billy Ray Cyrus’ abusive marriage
“I didn’t have a car. I was only allowed to go to the local chiropractor and get my nails done once a month… It was systematic isolation and I couldn’t work up the courage to leave,” Firerose said. “If I had to send a text, I had to read it out loud for permission. It was the same for email.”
The 62-year-old country singer would often yell at her. Due to the constant stress, Firerose fainted just two days before her wedding. Firerose also revealed that Billy kicked her out of their Tennessee home on the same day she was scheduled to have a double mastectomy.
A close friend of hers told the outlet, “It felt like Firerose was in a prison that she hadn’t prepared herself for.” The friend added that Billie would also advise her to “keep quiet” at times. She said, “I backed off… I was afraid to speak up.”
Firerose first met the Some Gave All singer in 2010, when he was still married to Tish Cyrus and starring in Disney’s Hannah Montana with their daughter. They became friends by then, after Billy told her he believed they were “soul mates.” However, they barely spoke at the time.
But, 10 years later, Billy tracked her down and told her she had been on his mind for the past decade. “Every day, he would tell me, ‘I’m getting a divorce’ but he said it was complicated because of the kids, and they had been married for so long. I just believed everything he said,” Firerose said.
“I would never have had a relationship with a married man, but he was a very big manipulator,” she said, adding, “He would get angry at me, scream at the top of his lungs. He would threaten me, scream, ‘You’re a stupid idiot, you’re crazy.’ It was irrational, crazy and terrifying.”
