Celebrity Couples

Billy Ray Cyrus Called an ‘Evil Man’ Amid Abuse Claims From Ex Firerose

The ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ singer filed for divorce in May, with Firerose later accusing Cyrus of ‘extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse.’
16th Annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Honors – Red Carpet
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – AUGUST 23: (L-R) FIREROSE and Billy Ray Cyrus attend the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 23, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM)

Firerose is opening up about her seven-month marriage to her estranged husband, Billy Ray Cyrus. In a new interview with Page Six just over a month after Cyrus filed for divorce and amid accusations of abuse on both sides, the Australian singer, whose real name is Johanna Rose Hodges, called Cyrus an “evil man” as she detailed the “strict rules” the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer had during their relationship and the “systematic isolation” she endured.

“Billy had very strict rules,” she told the outlet. “I didn’t have a car. I was only allowed to go to the local chiropractor and allowed once a month to get my nails done.”

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Firerose, who in a counter complaint filed in Tennessee court on June 14 accused Cyrus of “extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse,” claimed that Cyrus isolated her “from every single person in my life” and made her feel like a “prisoner” in their Tennessee home. She said that if she “had to send a text, I had to read it out to him for permission. It was the same for email.” A friend told the outlet that “it felt like Firerose was in a prison that she didn’t sign up for,” with Firerose describing it as “systematic isolation and I couldn’t find the courage to leave.”

She also claimed that Cyrus “would rage at me, shout at me at the top of his lungs. He would terrify me, yelling, ‘You stupid dumb f—ing b—, crazy whore.’ It was illogical and insane and terrifying. He kept saying ‘dumb f—ing b—,’ then ‘You’re the love of my life, I can’t wait to marry you.’” She said Cyrus would also give her the silent treatment for hours and sometimes even days, and she “withdrew … I was afraid to talk.”

In court documents filed in Tennessee last week, Cyrus denied Fierose’s “mind boggling” abuse claims made in her June 14 filing, which his lawyers said “were only made to sensationalize her false complaints by using the word abuse.” In the filing, Cyrus claimed “it is the plaintiff who, in fact, has been abused. Not only verbally and emotionally by the Defendant, but PHYSICALLY abused by Defendant.”

Firerose also opened up about her claims that Cyrus filed for divorce on the same day she was meant to have a double mastectomy. She told Page Six that after being diagnosed with the BRCA1 gene and deciding to undergo a double mastectomy, Cyrus kicked her out of their Tennessee home and filed for divorce on the same day she was set to undergo the procedure.

“When Billy decided to discard me it was [in] a brutal way. I would never treat another human being so cruelly,” she said, calling the ongoing legal battle “excruciatingly painful. This is a smear campaign by the person I was deeply in love with for four years and in a relationship with and who has decided to wage full blown war against me… I think he will use every single thing against me. He’s an evil man.”

Representatives for Cyrus did not respond to Page Six‘s request for comment. However, on the same day that the outlet’s story was published, the singer shared a message to Instagram, writing, “Happy Sunday everybody! Don’t believe I’ve ever heard the word LIAR this much on Sunday morning. I’m sure very soon the truth will be revealed.”