Billy Ray Cyrus’ ex-wife Firerose leans on surprising group of celebrity pals to cope with divorce

Firerose gets by with a little help from her friends.

The ex-wife of Billy Ray Cyrus told Page Six in an exclusive interview that she leans on her group of celebrity pals — which includes Crystal Harris, Courtney Stodden and Aubrey O’Day — to cope with her “traumatic” divorce from the country star.

“My beautiful friend Crystal Harris, who’s a New York Times best-selling author, survived many years [of alleged abuse]. She was married to Hugh Hefner, and she’s written her stories so beautifully and eloquently in a way that has helped so many,” Firerose, 37, marveled during our Zoom chat, referring to Harris as a “sister” with whom she has “bond[ed] over some very difficult things.”

During their 2023 divorce, Firerose alleged in court documents that Cyrus’ “unpredictable and volatile” behavior equated to “extreme verbal, emotional and psychological abuse” that was often exacerbated by his “persistent drug use” — claims he has “vehemently denied.”

During our conversation, Firerose called Stodden “another amazing angel” and confessed that she doesn’t know where she would be “without” O’Day.

“I’m really grateful for every strong badass survivor who’s gone before me, and I’m so honored to be able to call them my dear friends,” the singer-songwriter said.

Harris, who was married to much-older Playboy founder Hefner until his death in September 2017, has accused him of being emotionally and financially abusive as well as sexually controlling.

Stodden, for her part, has branded her ex-husband, Doug Hutchison, a “predator” and “pedophile” for marrying her when she was 16 and he was 51 — labels the actor has dismissed as “false, malicious and egregious.”

Meanwhile, O’Day — who has accused currently incarcerated music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of “grooming” her when he managed Danity Kane and then firing her when she rejected his sexual advances — was allegedly raped by him, too. Combs, however, has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.

“Our group chat goes off in the most beautiful way. It’s such a supportive, loving connection that we have, and obviously, the tightness of our friendship is accentuated by the fact that we’ve all survived [allegedly abusive relationships in the public eye],” Firerose told us of her “Survivor Sisters” text chain.

She added, “It’s so important to each of us to be that example for ourselves, for each other and for the world at large. … So many young women go through versions of what we have, and they don’t make it. They don’t survive. They don’t get the blessing and miracle of getting through something that is so extreme and so public and then coming out of it and building a beautiful life.

“And each one of my friends is just an amazing example of that, because it’s not easy.”

Firerose, who is estranged from her biological family, shared that her “friends are [her] family” who “show [her] what real love is” on a consistent basis.

The musician, 37, has long accused her ex-husband of narcissistic abuse, which he has denied, and his daughter Miley Cyrus once admitted that she “inherited the narcissism” from her dad.

“Part of narcissistic abuse is the strategic isolation and the coercive control to separate you from your community and your friends,” Firerose explained to us, making sure to add that many of those friends “witnessed [her] coming back to [herself]” following the messy split.

“And a lot of them were like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I had no idea what was really happening behind closed doors,’” she recalled, adding that — to some extent — neither did she.

“Part of narcissistic abuse is that you are sort of lulled into this false reality,” Firerose said, claiming that after initially “love-bombing” her, Billy Ray allegedly began “raging” at her, calling her “all the most vile names” and imposing “very strict rules” on her — all of which he has denied.

The Australia native also pointed to the former couple’s 27-year age gap — as well as Billy Ray’s established celebrity status — to emphasize the “massive power imbalance” in their relationship.

But the Grammy winner, who filed for divorce in June 2024 after just seven months of marriage, tells a different story. In his petition, Billy Ray accused his third wife of inappropriate marital conduct and fraud, later elaborating that she allegedly made almost $100,000 worth of unauthorized purchases using his credit card.

According to Firerose, however, she was authorized to use several of his credit cards and was never told to abide by a limit.

The “Achy Breaky Heart” crooner went on to allege that Firerose was the abusive one in their relationship and only married him for his fame and fortune, which she has denied.

Their divorce was finalized in August 2024. Though Firerose did not receive any alimony from Billy Ray, he agreed to hand over his claims to rights, credits and royalties for the songs they wrote and published together during their short-lived union.

While the “Old Town Road” artist moved on with English actress Elizabeth Hurley, Firerose has been focusing her time and energy on her “healing.” She explores the complexities of the topic on her podcast, “No One Asked Her,” and via her new music, including tracks “Shining Armor,” “Do Not Be Afraid” and “Love Knows How.”

“You can go through the most difficult things and come out of it, and it doesn’t take away any of the trauma or pain, but you can always choose to alchemize it, better yourself and help others with what you’ve learned,” she told us.

“And that’s just my mission through my music and my podcast and my social media and everything I do now is with that intention.”

Reps for Billy Ray did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on this story.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 800-799-7233 or texting “BEGIN” to 88788.