However, Billy Ray’s marriage to Tish wasn’t the first time he’d tied the knot.
He detailed meeting Cindy Cyrus—who cowrote his songs “Wher’m I Gonna Live?” and “Some Gave All”—at a bar in his 2013 memoir Hillbilly Heart.
“The first night I remember seeing Cindy, she was wearing a small halter top and very short shorts,” he recalled. “It was probably twelve fifteen on a Friday or Saturday, and with her sweet little face, greenish blue eyes and that outfit, Cindy stood out among the crowd on a packed dance floor.”
The two wed in 1986 after just a few months of knowing each other. However, Billy Ray wrote that their marriage became “more of a party than a traditional partnership” and that there were “entanglements,” including his relationship with Kari Reeves (the daughter of country music singer Del Reeves).
In 1991, Cindy filed for divorce. “There were no hard feelings,” Billy Ray wrote. “Both of us recognized our marriage was a relic from another time.”
As for Elizabeth’s dating history, her exes include actor Hugh Grant, basketball player-turned coach Steve Nash, businessman Arun Nayar (the pair were married from 2007 to 2011) and late cricketer Shane Warne (who became her fiancé in 2011 before they called off their engagement two years later).
And while you can tell our hearts every last detail of this latest coupling, it’s not the only reason that Billy Ray has made headlines lately with much speculation devoted to his rumored rifts with some of his children.
And if you just don’t think you understand what’s going on, we’ve detailed every branch of his famed family tree.