Tish Cyrus encouraged Billy Ray Cyrus to star on 'Hannah Montana' to keep family 'together'

Tish Cyrus got "The Best of Both Worlds" when she convinced then-husband Billy Ray Cyrus to take a co-starring gig with daughter Miley Cyrus.

During an appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast released Wednesday, Cyrus opened up about how her former spouse was cast opposite Miley on "Hannah Montana," the Disney Channel sitcom the father-daughter pair starred on from 2006-2011.

"He had done 'Achy Breaky (Heart),' and nothing else was working," Cyrus told host Alex Cooper, referring to Billy Ray’s early '90s country hit. "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.' "

On "Hannah Montana," Miley starred as schoolgirl Miley Stewart, who led a double life as teen popstar Hannah Montana. Cyrus, who appeared on "Call Her Daddy" alongside daughter Brandi Cyrus, said relocating her entire family to Los Angeles for the show's production motivated her to encourage Billy Ray to star as Miley's father, Robby Ray, on the series.

Cyrus and Billy Ray share five children: Brandi, 36, Trace, 34, Miley, 31, Braison, 29, and Noah, 24. Billy Ray adopted Brandi and Trace, who are Cyrus' children from her relationship with Baxter Neal Helson.

"I couldn't, as a mom, have half my kids in Tennessee and be out here with Miley, like I just could not do that. And so I was like, 'I have to bring all the kids,' " Cyrus said. "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.' "

In a 2011 interview with GQ, Billy Ray reflected that the series "destroyed" his family with Cyrus.

"I'd take it back in a second," Billy Ray said at the time. "For my family to be here and just be everybody okay, safe and sound and happy and normal, would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I'd erase it all in a second if I could."

While Cyrus acknowledged "Hannah Montana" became "its own phenomenon," she and Brandi refuted Billy Ray's claim about the show's impact on their family.

"I mean, the family's not destroyed, first of all. We're doing great," Brandi said, to which Cyrus added, "I just think he was having a moment."

Cyrus and Billy Ray divorced in April 2022 following 29 years of marriage. The couple cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.

Both Cyrus and Billy Ray remarried in 2023. Cyrus tied the knot with "Prison Break" actor Dominic Purcell in August, while Billy Ray married Australian singer Firerose in October.

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