Tish Cyrus (LOL, So Undercover), the mother of Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana, The Last Song), one of the most successful Disney Channel stars of the 2000s, has opened up about how the hit sitcom Hannah Montana skyrocketed her daughter and then-husband, Billy Ray Cyrus’s (Mulholland Drive, The Spy Next Door), careers and divulged how it shaped their lives behind the scenes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Tish and her eldest daughter, Brandi Cyrus, sat down for an interview with Call Her Daddy.
Hannah Montana aired on Disney Channel from 2006 until 2011 and starred Cyrus as Miley Stewart, a teenager living a double life as a secret popstar. She starred alongside her real-life father, Billy Ray, who portrayed her father, Robby Ray Stewart, in the series.
Tish stated via The Hollywood Reporter that the series “became its own phenomenon” and that she and her family were not expecting it upon its initial debut. Additionally, Brandi stated, “Hannah Montana was just different. And I don’t think anyone could’ve ever anticipated it or thought how big it would be.”
However, Billy Ray, who caught the limelight in 1992 thanks to his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart”, wasn’t meant to be a part of the series. Tish, who saw an open window for her family to stay together, advocated for Billy Ray to be cast.
“He had done ‘Achy Breaky [Heart]’ and nothing else was working. And then I brought Miley out to audition for Hannah and she had gotten it. And then one of the casting directors said a joke, like, ‘Ugh, too bad we can’t afford her real dad.’ And I said, ‘Oh, maybe you can.’” recollected Tish via The Hollywood Reporter.
The Cyrus family, which comprised five children in total, was living in Toronto, Canada, at the time for one of Billy Ray’s gigs right before Miley booked the role on Hannah Montana. This was when Tish realized she had to take matters into her own hands to decide what to do before moving her entire family cross country or even travel back and forth, which would have been “really hard,” as Tish said.
“Miley had already gotten Hannah, and I was already stressed about, ‘What are we gonna do?’ I couldn’t, as a mom, have half my kids in Tennessee and be out [in L.A.] with Miley, like I just could not do that. And so I was like, ‘I have to bring all the kids.’ And so that’s when I said to Billy Ray, ‘You should come audition for the dad. Because they love you and they’re really interested. Yes, it would be a pay cut but our family could be together,’ ” said Tish to Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper.
Tish’s version of what happened in the family during the heydays of Hannah Montana contradicts Billy Ray’s comments in the past. The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer stated that the sitcom “destroyed” their family. He sat down with GQ back in 2011 and said, “It destroyed my family. I’ll tell you right now — the damn show destroyed my family.”
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Tish and Brandi said his comments weren’t true. Tish said, “Absolutely not.” Brandi also said, “Not at all … I mean the family’s not destroyed, first of all. We’re doing great.”
“I just think he was having a moment,” Tish, who got divorced from Billy Ray in 2022, cleared up his comments on the series at the time.
Tish and Brandi’s interview on Call Her Daddy occurred just a few days after Miley won her first-ever Grammy Awards—one for Record of the Year for “Flowers” and Best Pop Solo.
During Miley’s acceptance speech for winning record of the year, some noticed on social media that she did not mention her younger sister, Noah, or her father. There has been speculation that Miley and Billy Ray have grown apart.
Since Miley’s parents split, Billy Ray married an Australian musician named Firerose (New Day, Plans Party Remix) last October. Likewise, Tish married Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell (Blade: Trinity, Killer Elite) last August.