In a new interview with People, 61-year-old Billy Ray Cyrus insists that "there's no hard feelings" between him and his six children regarding his engagement to 34-year-old singer-songwriter Firerose.
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"Everyone knew that that relationship was over a long time ago," Cyrus said, referring to his prior marriage to his ex-wife, Tish. "Everybody's turning the page... It's been a lot, but everyone knew that it was time for a change."
Cyrus has five children with Tish: daughters Miley, 29, Brandi, 35, and Noah, 22, plus sons Trace, 33, and Braison, 28. He also has a son named Christopher Cody, 30, with ex-girlfriend Kristin Luckey.
The newly-engaged couple met 12 years ago on the set of Hannah Montana. Cyrus was taking a break from shooting one day with his dog, Tex, when he first saw her.
"There's a couple old pine trees on the lot that look like Tennessee," he previously shared with People. "Tex and I would go out there in the middle of the day and he'd take care of his business and we'd stretch and I'd think how much I missed Tennessee. On that given day, Firerose came out of the front door. There was almost a moment of, I don't know, recognition. I was like, 'This girl's a star.'"
They remained friends over the years, eventually becoming musical collaborators and romantic partners.
"There was sickness and death, and hard times," Cyrus said, referring to the COVID-19 lockdown. "All of the sudden, the life that I've always known as a touring artist didn't exist anymore. A moment of so much change. And at the same time, Firerose, who had been such a light of positivity, such a best friend. And then when we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist. Again, we're musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life."
Engagement followed in August.
"It was really just this moment where Billy looked at me and said 'Do you wanna marry me?' He didn't get down on one knee or anything," Firerose told People. "He said, 'I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.'"
