Miley Cyrus has shared that she’s reconciled with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, following their previously turbulent relationship.
The pop star discussed this during a The New York Times interview published on May 31. When questioned about whether she and her father remained “still estranged,” Miley answered, “No.”
“I think timing is everything,” she continued. “As I’ve gotten older, I’m respecting my parents as individuals instead of as parents — because my mom really loved my dad for her whole life, and I think being married to someone in the music industry and not being a part of it is obviously really hard. And so I think I took on some of my mom’s hurt as my own because it hurt her more than it hurt me as an adult, and so I owned a lot of her pain.
“But now that my mom is so in love with my stepdad, who I completely adore, and now that my dad, I see him finding happiness, too — I can love them both as individuals instead of as a parental pairing.”
In her response, Miley acknowledged that both parents have found new love interests. Her father is now with Elizabeth Hurley, while Tish Cyrus has married Dominic Purcell.
Miley went on to describe how her personal growth has strengthened their father-daughter bond.
“I’m being an adult about it,” she said. “At first it’s hard, because the little kid in you reacts before the adult in you can go, ‘Yes, that’s your dad, but that’s just another person that deserves to be in his bliss and to be happy.’ My child self has caught up.”
These comments follow Miley’s response to speculation about family drama after her mother appeared to unfollow her on Instagram.
“I rarely comment on rumors, but my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us,” wrote Miley. “She’s my best friend. Like a lot of moms, she doesn’t know how to work her phone and somehow unfollowed me — simple, coincidental, and uninteresting.”
Miley then spoke about her connection with her father, noting that the two “have had our challenges over the years.”
“Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else,” Miley concluded. “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.”
