Miley Cyrus Engagement Rocked By Shocking Adoption Claim That Won’t Go Away
By Chukwudi Onyewuchi on December 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM EST
Miley Cyrus may be celebrating her engagement to boyfriend Maxx Morando, but a strange legal battle is threatening to overshadow the happy moment.
An Arizona woman has accused the singer’s parents, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus-Purcell, of hiding her true parentage and claimed she is Miley’s biological mother.
The claims have now spiraled into a lawsuit filled with shocking accusations, celebrity name-drops, and demands for DNA tests.
Miley Cyrus Pulled Into Explosive ‘Secret Adoption’ Lawsuit
Miley Cyrus’ engagement announcement arrived just as a shocking case resurfaced involving an Arizona woman named Jayme Lee, who claims she is the pop star’s real mother.
According to court filings obtained by the Daily Mail, Lee insists she gave birth to Miley in 1992 at age 12 and later entered a “private adoption agreement” with Billy and Tish.
She said she was promised the right to choose Miley’s name and work as her nanny and piano teacher.
Lee accused Billy of “wrongfully assuming the role” of Miley’s father without her consent and “misrepresenting the circumstances” of the alleged adoption, which she says caused her severe emotional distress.
The lawsuit alleges “breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unlawful interference with parental rights.”
The case has been ongoing since May, when Lee first filed the complaint in Tennessee. Since then, she has continued to pursue the Cyruses for answers and court-ordered DNA testing.
Miley Named In Claims Of Fraud, Abuse And Secret DNA Deal
Lee strengthened her accusations in an amended filing submitted in June.
In it, she accused Billy and Tish of “child abuse and endangerment” for making Miley Cyrus a public figure and knowingly placing her in the spotlight.
The 45-year-old also insisted that “no valid adoption papers were ever lawfully signed” and argued she lacked the legal capacity to consent because she was a minor at the time.
She further claimed the Cyrus parents cut off all contact and “threatened her with police action” shortly after Miley’s birth.
Lee alleged that by age 12, she was “trying to find a lawyer to help me get visitation of Miley,” but said she was then brutally attacked and placed in a state of trauma.
She demanded supervised maternity and paternity DNA tests for Miley, Billy, and Tish.
The Arizona native also asked the court to “revisit the legality of the adoption” if the DNA results supported her claims.
Miley Cyrus’s Case Intensifies As Celebrity Names And Summons Pile Up
As the allegations gained steam, Lee attempted to pull several celebrities into the legal drama.
She filed a summons to Tish in June and one to Billy in November. She also tried to add Dolly Parton, Miley’s real-life godmother, as a defendant, claiming Parton had “direct and material knowledge” of the adoption.
In addition, Lee listed Julia Roberts, Hillary Clinton, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, and Neil Patrick Harris as supposed eyewitnesses.
She even issued a subpoena to Taylor Swift on November 13, demanding the superstar return a scrapbook Lee claimed to have made for Miley when she was 12.
Despite the dramatic filings, a judge denied Lee’s request for a trial in October. Still, Lee continued pushing the case forward, attempting to force the Cyrus family to respond.
Miley Pulled In Again As Billy Ray Fights ‘Absurd’ Claims
Billy formally entered the fight on November 20, filing a motion to dismiss Lee’s lawsuit entirely.
In his response, he said her allegations were “false and absurd” and were filed solely for the purposes of harassing him and his family and “needlessly wasting this Court’s time and resources.”
His attorney explained that Tennessee law does not allow the adoption of a child without a court order, directly contradicting Lee’s claims of a private agreement.
They also pointed out that the statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years, and the statute for emotional distress claims is one year, both long expired.
Billy later filed a separate response opposing Lee’s amended complaint, stating he was never properly served and only recently became aware of the new allegations.
The court officially ended the case on December 5. According to Billy’s attorney, Chase LanCarte, the lawsuit was “dismissed with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.
The judge also awarded the singer recovery of his attorney’s fees and legal costs.
Miley Cyrus Confirms Her Engagement To Morando
The legal battle comes amid Miley’s engagement to Morando.
As The Blast reported, the “Wrecking Ball” hitmaker officially confirmed her engagement to Morando, opening up about the deeply personal proposal during a recent “Good Morning America” interview.
The Grammy Award winner revealed that Morando surprised her by getting down on one knee during their trip to Japan, a place she had intentionally saved as her “special” destination because she had never visited before.
Miley admitted she was “not easy to surprise” since she liked to control situations, but said she had “completely surrendered” in that moment.
After four years together, the couple is ready for the next step, and the star shared that the timing felt perfect as her personal life and career seemed to be aligning effortlessly.
With the release of her new song “Dream As One” for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” she said both her work and love life were “marrying each other,” making the engagement feel like a natural, harmonious milestone.
