Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus and Tish Cyrus attend the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California© Getty

Miley Cyrus jokes of dad Billy Ray Cyrus' 'narcissism' as she addresses their relationship amid Firerose divorce

The "Flowers" singer opened up about her relationship with her dad while speaking with David Letterman

Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
June 12, 2024

Miley Cyrus knows she has somewhat tricky family dynamics, and she isn't afraid to address them.

The "Flowers" singer is a product of her mom Tish Cyrus' marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus; the two were married from 1993 until 2022, and together also share Braison, 30, Noah, 24, plus Tish is also a mom to Brandi, 37, and Trace, 35.

For years the Grammy-winning singer has been reportedly distanced from her dad — and Hannah Montana co-star — and just as the "Butterfly Fly Away" singer announced his already tumultuous divorce from estranged wife Firerose, his daughter has given insight into what their relationship looks like today.

During an appearance on David Letterman's Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Miley recalled — or tried — when she first moved to Los Angeles to film Hannah Montana.

"I have a terrible memory," she noted, before joking: "Because I also inherited the narcissism from my father," prompting laughter from David, as she added: "It's true. It's okay. It's okay."

Later in the interview, David also asked whether "My father is my hero" was a sentiment Miley related to. Taking a sigh and a beat, she answered: "I mean honestly my mom is my hero."

© Peacock

Miley and Billy Ray, 2021

Continuing, with pause, she said: "My father… I'm grateful for his genes. My dad has great hair, and I got that, but he also, he has a relationship and a foot on the ground to the real, and to nature, and he always did, even when he was super famous.

MORE: Billy Ray Cyrus expresses heartfelt pride over daughter Miley amid rumored rift

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Billy Ray broke out on the country scene in 1992, and is best known for his hit "Achy Breaky Heart" of the same year.

© Instagram

The two were Disney Channel co-stars for five years

Miley continued: "I'm grateful for being able to watch him ahead of me. He's almost like, given me this map, and there is a map of what to do and what not to do, and he's guided me on both."

MORE: Noah Cyrus addresses Tish Cyrus, Dominic Purcell love triangle rumors with fiery message you can't miss

© Instagram

The country singer recently also reflected on his memories with his daughter

She also noted that she and her father hae "really different upbringings," explaining: "The way that my dad was raised, he grew up very poor in a very small town. His parents were divorced when he was very young."

MORE: Miley Cyrus' mom Tish admits 'I don't know how we survived everything' as she opens up about relationship with her children

© Getty

Tish and Billy ray split in 2022

"My dad had a pretty rough childhood, and my childhood really… I mean we can go in and we can talk about the hard times or the struggles [...] but I had food, I had love, I grew up in a beautiful big house and my dad didn't have that."

She concluded: "So I have a lot of empathy and compassion for his childhood, which obviously developed to create the man that he is now that I have a lot of love for."

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