During a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Tish Cyrus, mother of Miley Cyrus, shared her personal journey, revealing her request to be admitted to a mental health facility following the collapse of her marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus and the passing of her mother.
Tish disclosed that in 2020, the same year as her mother’s death, she experienced what she described as “a complete psychological breakdown” after deciding to end her marriage to the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer.
“It was so crazy, because honestly my biggest two fears in life were being alone and my mum passing away,” she candidly admitted. “I was like, ‘I just don’t know if I’ll survive when my mum dies.’ Like, honestly. And I had one month of a, honestly, complete psychological breakdown. It was the worst thing – like, honestly. It was not good.”
Feeling overwhelmed, Tish expressed her desperation to seek help, recalling how she reached out to Dr. Amen, expressing, “Can you please put me in a mental hospital?”
Despite Dr. Amen advising against hospitalization, Tish, 56, struggled with severe emotional turmoil. “I could not eat. I could not sleep. I could not stop crying. I literally weighed, like, 130 (pounds),” she revealed. “I don’t have my mum, and then I don’t have my husband that’s been my husband for 30 years. Like, holy c**p, I’m scared.”
Tish and Billy Ray, married since 1993, had previously filed for divorce twice before reconciling. However, amidst the pandemic, with Billy Ray in Tennessee and Tish in California, she realized their marriage was irreparable.
“I really during that period took a good hard look at my life and what was I going to do… It had not been in a good place for a long time; I think I stayed out of fear of being alone,” she reflected.
In 2022, Tish officially filed for divorce from Billy Ray, and both have since moved on—Tish marrying actor Dominic Purcell, and Billy Ray tying the knot with singer Firerose last year.
Reflecting on her journey, Tish emphasized her commitment to self-respect and moving forward. “I literally made the decision moving on with my life, it worked out for the best,” she asserted. “I will never put up with disrespect. I didn’t even know until I had a new relationship that there was so much respect, how much disrespect there was in my marriage before, on both our parts.”