Miley Cyrus details family drama and relationship with dad Billy Ray: ‘We’re so messy’

Miley Cyrus has opened up on her family’s tumultuous decade, revealing how the Cyrus clan overcame deep rifts, without ever stepping foot in therapy.

During her appearance on the June 10 episode of Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, Miley, 32, shared her journey of healing and the importance of communication within her family.

“Half of us weren’t speaking to each other at one point, and we cleaned all that up,” the singer told host Monica Lewinsky.

“That was a really important part of my year this year, was all of my family putting those lines of communication back together. A lot because of, you know, I had a lot of loyalty to my mum (Tish Cyrus), the way that families do when parents get divorced.”

Miley’s family drama with her dad and mum reached a peak after Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus’s divorce in 2022, following nearly three decades of marriage, which led to communication breaking down among her siblings as well.

Miley, now on good terms with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, reflected on the emotional toll of unresolved family conflict.

“In that situation,” she said, “I watched what happens when you don’t clean things up as they’re happening. They really do stack, and then all of a sudden you go, ‘Oh my God, it’s been 10 years, and this is a mess that I barely even know how to start. This is like emotional hoarding.’”

Miley revealed her unique approach to breaking the cycle of family drama: “I just kind of bust through the pile that’s stacked, and just go, ‘I’m here. You’re here. Let’s start by having a good time together.’ And then as we start bringing some happiness and joy into each other’s life, then we’ll just be in a better place to have these conversations. ‘Cause I’d rather get it balanced first.”

When asked if the family ever sought counselling, Miley was forward: “We’re so messy we didn’t even do any of that,” adding, “to get each other in a room to even get to counselling would have been a war. So it was easier to just go, ‘White flag’.”

Family tensions, especially with Billy Ray, have even inspired new music. “I even wrote a song about it that’s actually not on this album,” Miley shared.

“I’m working on another album, and that’s a song that I’m working on called ‘Secrets.’ I wrote this song about my dad, because I wanted him to tell me even though there were secrets, even though I didn’t really want to know. I wanted to be the one he felt safe enough to tell me the things that were damning and damaging to the family.”

Miley emphasised her role as a safe space for her family: “I always wanted my family to feel like I was the safe place, that I always had the white flag when they came to talk to me.”

She also offered insight into her parents’ personalities and their divorce after nearly 30 years of marriage. “Both of my parents are ‘chronically polite,’” Miley explained, noting that Tish would “stay in something that makes her uncomfortable for way too long, not wanting to hurt somebody, and at the end, it’s just so excruciating for her.”

Billy Ray, she described as “intelligent” and “very intuitive,” traits that can be “deceiving” or even “manipulative,” but ultimately rooted in a poetic and caring nature.

Miley’s appearance on the podcast follows recent public statements about family rumours and her close bond with her mother, despite social media hiccups.

“I rarely comment on rumours, but my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us.”

Miley wrote last month. “She’s my best friend. Like a lot of mums, she doesn’t know how to work her phone and somehow un-followed me — simple, coincidental, and uninteresting.”

Addressing her relationship with her dad, Miley added, “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.”