There’s a saying that goes: When you’re at your lowest point, you’ll find who your true friends are, and Billy Ray Cyrus knows that to be true. It was back in 1992 when the country singer hit a rough patch and received a thoughtful letter from Johnny Cash.
This time, while feeling down and out, he made a friend — and more — in actress Elizabeth Hurley.
Billy Ray Cyrus And Elizabeth Hurley Make Romance Social Media Official
Cyrus, 63, and Hurley, 59, sparked a buzz on Easter Sunday when they debuted a romantic photo as part of a joint post on Instagram. The snapshot features the pair cuddling up in the outdoors as Hurley accepts a loving kiss on the cheek from Cyrus.
“Happy Easter ♥️” the two captioned alongside the heartwarming image.
Now Cyrus is sharing more behind that sweet picture that has everyone asking the question: Are these two in a relationship?
“It wasn’t even a photograph that was ever supposed to be a photograph,” Cyrus said of the Easter-themed photo while appearing on Apple Music Country’s The Ty Bentli Show on Thursday (April 24). “I would say it feels very…. She’s a great human being… If all we ever were the friends that we are, I would take that.”
Hurley Reached Out To Cyrus During A Rough Time Of His Life
Of his latest romance with Hurley, Cyrus told the outlet that he didn’t expect to find himself confiding in the Bedazzled star. That it was actually her who reached out to him.
“I felt like, ‘Wow, can life get any harder? Can it get any tougher for me?’ At a certain point, it was like, you can’t get knocked down any flatter than laying on your back when life is kicking you in the gut,” Cyrus recalled. “And in this moment, this hand kind of reached out in a text message… So, I text back, I go, ‘Who is this?’ And it’s like, ‘Elizabeth Hurley.’ Of all the people to reach out to me in that second that maybe I needed most…. This friend who made me laugh”
“I didn’t even know the number,” he admitted before sharing what the text read. “It’s like, ‘Hey, it looks like life might be a little bit tough, and just wanted you to know I’m in your corner. You got a friend in your corner.’ [It] reminded me a bit of what Johnny Cash had written to me in 1992 when I was taking a pretty good pounding.”
How Did Billy Ray Cyrus Meet Actress Elizabeth Hurley?
Cyrus and Hurley’s connection comes two years after the pair first met while filming Christmas In Paradise on the Caribbean island of Nevis. At the time, Cyrus says, “We did very few scenes together, but the couple of times we were in the same scene, there was a chemistry there.”
“We just laughed, and it was at a time [when] I wasn’t laughing a lot…” Cyrus continued. “The oddest part was first how much we laughed. Second, I figured we were so different, but in some very strange way, we had way more in common than we had different.”
Billy Ray Compares Elizabeth to Country Music Icon Dolly Parton
Cyrus went on to praise Hurley in the highest regard. “She’s so impressively brilliant. She reminds me a lot of Dolly Parton. She’s a very smart businesswoman,” he said, adding: “If you can laugh together, you can make it through everything.”
While folks were surprised by the Easter-themed Instagram post, Cyrus hinted, “There will be [another] one coming where she’s kissing me because people have been saying, ‘Why’s he always kissing her?’ Unfortunately, when I see her when she puts her cheek out there, I don’t know what happens. I just kiss it.”
“It’s just been beautiful,” he added, “And again, no expectations of where we go from here other than her and her son — I do love him a lot, and it’s great that God brought them into my life when he did. It’s just a good thing. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy.”
Previously Relationships
Long before posing for a pic with Cyrus, Hurley was bride to businessman Arun Nayar from 2007 to 2011. She shares a son named Damian with the late Steve Bing.
Meanwhile, Cyrus’ last relationship was with Firerose, who he wed in October of 2023. The couple divorced in 2024.
Before that, the “Achy Breaky Heart” hitmaker was married to Tish Cyrus. The two, who share daughters Miley, Noah, and Brandi and sons Braison and Trace, split in 2022 after nearly 30 years of marriage. Before his marriage to Tish, Cyrus dated Kristen Luckey, whom he shares son Christopher Cody with. He was also husband of Cindy Smith from 1986 to 1991.
