Trace Cyrus is trying to get through to his dad Billy Ray Cyrus—and if not for himself, for his sisters.
Three days after the “Old Town Road” singer’s performance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration left some fans concerned, Billy and Tish Cyrus’ eldest son shared a heartbreaking message to his father on social media. And in it, he gave a glimpse into how his little sister Noah Cyrus is doing amid the family’s rocky relationship with their dad.
"Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away,” Trace wrote in the Jan. 22 Instagram post. “Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life and you haven’t even been there for her. That’s your baby girl. She deserves better.”
But along with calling out his father’s absence in their lives, the Metro Station band member went on to express their shared hope that Billy Ray would someday reconnect with the man he once was.
“Somehow just like me she still idolizes you though,” Trace continued of Noah. “We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew & hoping for the day he returns.”
After all, 35-year-old—who is also brother to Miley Cyrus, 32, as well as Brandi Cyrus, 37, and Braison Cyrus, 30—knew all too well how it felt to look up to the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer.
“Since my earliest memories all I can remember is being obsessed with you and thinking you were the coolest person ever,” he recalled. “I wanted to be just like you.”
But for Trace, that Billy Ray—who adopted him and Brandi when they were young children—is no longer recognizable.
“The day you adopted me was the happiest day of my life,” he continued. “Sadly the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now. It seems this world has beaten you down and it’s become obvious to everyone but you.”
And despite the possibility of Billy Ray—who was embroiled in a public divorce from third wife Firerose last year—being angry at him for sharing his heartfelt plea online, Trace expressed that he, “really could care less at this point.”
“As I write this with tears in my eyes,” he explained, “I hope you realize this message only comes from a place of love and also fear that the world may lose you far too soon. I love you Dad.”
And months before Trace urged his father to seek help for whatever he’s “struggling with,” the Hannah Montana star shared insight into the state of her own relationship with the “Back From Tennessee” singer, amid the longtime rumors of a rift.
"I have a terrible memory because I also inherited the narcissism from my father that I don't know anything about my siblings except for the part that I was doing," Miley joked during a June episode of My Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman. "It's true. It's OK."
Even so, she made it clear that she still has a lot of love for her father and attributed many of her accomplishments to his guidance.
"Without my dad, I know—I mean, not just literally I wouldn't be sitting in this chair I wouldn't exist—but I would not, who I am as a person, it wouldn't exist," she continued. "Because my dad, as a creative and like as an artist in the way that his brain works, has always made me feel safer in my own mind because we're very similar in some of our ideas.”
“So I think a lot of his perspective on reality and on life I've inherited from him more so than the way that I was raised,” Miley added, “which really, my mom raised me."
To see more on the Cyrus family tree, keep reading…
How the Cyrus Family Started
Billy Ray Cyrus married Tish Cyrus (née Leticia Finley) on Dec. 28, 2003.
At the time they already shared 12-month-old daughter Destiny Hope Cyrus—you may know her as Miley Cyrus—and Tish was pregnant with their son Braison Cyrus, who was born May 9, 1994.
Seven months before Miley was born on Nov. 23, 1992, Billy Ray's ex-girlfriend Kristin Luckey gave birth to their son Christopher Cody Cyrus on April 8.
When the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer married Tish, he adopted her daughter Brandi Cyrus (born May 26, 1987) and son Trace Cyrus (Feb. 24, 1989), whose biological father is their mom's ex-husband Baxter Helson.
Tish and Billy Ray's youngest, daughter Noah Cyrus, was born Jan. 8, 2000.
Father-Daughter Stardom
From 2006 to 2010, Billy Ray played the father of Miley's normal-kid-who-moonlights-as-a-pop-star character in the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana and a 2009 film adaptation.
While the Cyrus family was still based in Nashville, Billy Ray and Miley made the move to L.A. to jumpstart her own entertainment career.
Where There's Smoke...
Billy Ray and Tish announced in October 2010 that they were getting divorced, but by the following year were back together.
They filed for divorce again in June 2013 but reconsidered barely a month later, telling E! News at the time that they'd been to couple's counseling and it had done wonders for them.
But before they reconciled, when the news broke that her dad had made the first move in a Nashville court to end his marriage after 19 years, Miley tweeted, "@billyraycyrus since your text and email obviously aren't working would you like to talk like this?"
Miley Starts Over
After starring in 2010's The Last Song together and dating off and on for a decade, Miley and Liam Hemsworth married in December 2018, not long after their Malibu home burned down.
The decision came "from a place of trauma and just trying to rebuild as quickly as we could," Miley recalled on her "Used to Be Young" TikTok series.
But Liam filed for divorce in August 2019 and they finalized the paperwork in January 2020.
"It's honestly very simple," a source told E! at the time. "They fell in love when they were young and they are just different people now."
The Family Tree Keeps Growing
Braison and his wife Stella Cyrus welcomed son Bear Chance Cyrus on June 8, 2021.
Billy Ray and Tish Split Up for Good
Tish filed for divorce fo a third time in April 2022, and this time it stuck.
Moreover, her petition citing "irreconcilable differences" noted that she and her husband of almost 30 years hadn't lived together since February 2020.
"It is after 30 years, five amazing children and a lifetime of memories, we have decided to go our separate ways—not with sadness, but with love in our hearts," Tish and Billy Ray told People in a statement. "We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths."
The exes noted that they hadn't come to the decision to split up for good "lightly or quickly," adding, "We will always be family and look forward to a continued and loving shared experience as friends and parents."
Billy Ray Moves on With Firerose
Billy Ray quietly got engaged to Australian singer Firerose, who's 27 years his junior, in August 2022 but waited to confirm the news until that November.
"Growing up in Australia, my love of music was predominant over everything," Firerose told People. "I've known his music since forever."
What started as a friendship turned into more during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All of the sudden, the life that I've always known as a touring artist didn't exist anymore," Billy Ray said. "A moment of so much change. And at the same time, Firerose, who had been such a light of positivity, such a best friend. And then when we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist."
Tish Finds Love With Dominic Purcell
Around the time her ex-husband confirmed his engagment in November 2022, Tish went Instagram-official with Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell.
They got engaged in April 2023 and tied the knot that August in Malibu at sunset with Miley, Trace and Brandi all standing by their mom's side.
"Life is unpredictable & always full of changes," Trace captioned a photo of himself and two of his sibling with the bride. "I think the most important thing to do is cherish the past, look forward to the future, & always be happy in the present moment because that’s really all we have."
Miley Weighs in on Her Mom's Love Life
As for her dad's next chapter, however, a source close to Miley told E! News in October 2022 that she wasn't in love with it and didn't have a relationship with her future stepmom.
"The divorce between her parents put a strain on her relationship with her dad and it's been hard to connect with him in the last year," the source said. "She hopes they can eventually work on their relationship."
Billy Ray told People that November, however, that his family had "no hard feelings" about his engagement.
"Everybody's turning the page," he said. "It's been a lot, but everyone knew that it was time for a change."
He and Firerose got married on Oct. 10, 2023, calling it the "beautiful, joyous day that our two souls united as one in holy matrimony."
Only Some of Miley's Family Get Their Flowers
Whatever rift opened up between Miley and her dad apparently hadn't been repaired by the night of the 2024 Grammys on Feb. 4.
Tish and Brandi were there, as was Miley's boyfriend Maxx Morando, and they all got shout-outs when the "Flowers" singer won Record of the Year.
As Miley concluded her speech, "I don't think I forgot anyone."
Wait, What?
None of the three officially confirmed or denied eyebrow-raising reports that Noah was involved with Dominic before her mother was, but the Grammy-nominated singer had some choice words for an Instagram commenter in April 2024 after the person crudely suggested that Noah and Tish both had "sexy time" with the actor.
"I'm so sorry but will you pleeeeeass just choke on the fattest c--k," Noah wrote in response. "Just for a lil bit. Great thanks."
Billy Ray Moves on From Firerose
Barely eight months after they tied the knot, Billy Ray filed to annul the union, alleging in court documents the marriage was "obtained by fraud."
He listed May 22, 2024, as their date of separation.
However, Billy Ray amended his plan and filed for divorce, which was settled that August.
"This has been absolutely the most crazy insane scam I have ever heard of," Billy Ray said in a statement to E! News. "Let alone the fact I'm right in the center and basically the target of the scheme. It's unfortunate it played out this way."
Trace's Public Plea to Dad Billy Ray
“Since my earliest memories all I can remember is being obsessed with you and thinking you were the coolest person ever," Trace began a Jan. 22, 2025, Instagram post directed at his father. "I wanted to be just like you. The day you adopted me was the happiest day of my life. Sadly the man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now."
Referring to his sisters, he continued, "Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away."
Noah was especially hurt, according to Trace.
"Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life and you haven't even been there for her," he wrote. "That’s your baby girl. She deserves better. Somehow just like me she still idolizes you though. We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew & hoping for the day he returns."
Billy Ray Breaks Silence on Family Rift
After his son Trace said he and his sisters—including Miley, Brandi and Noah—were worried about Billy Ray, the country music star wrote in the caption of a YouTube Shorts post on Jan. 26, 2025. “Praying for my family. For my children … sons and daughters…and their mother."
On the Mend
In March 2025, Billy Ray seemed to signal that his bond with his kids was improving as he shared a touching tribute to Miley and Noah in honor of their latest music projects.
“Flesh and blood … completely taking their art to a whole new level. Congratulations girls,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “I’m so damn proud of both of you. I’m actually crying as I write this. Thank God you can’t see me.”
Reunited and Miley Breaks Silence
In May 2025, Billy Ray shared a photo of himself with Miley, her boyfriend Maxx Morando and his son Braison Cyrus at what appears to be the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer's farm in Tennessee. He captioned his Instagram post, “Happy Birthday Braison!!!!!"
One day later, Miley broke her silence about the family rift rumors, noting on Instamgram that she and her dad "have had our challenges over the years."
Miley continued, "Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I'm at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing. Grateful for the good health and love that flows through my family."