Tish Cyrus Reveals How She Numbed The Pain After Billy Ray Split

Tish Cyrus is opening up about one of the darkest chapters of her life, revealing how she coped when her world unraveled behind the scenes. 

The music manager and reality TV star says the breakdown of her decades-long marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus collided with devastating personal loss, leaving her overwhelmed and searching for relief. 

In a candid new podcast appearance, Tish detailed how she turned to drugs, therapy, and eventually new love as she worked through grief, anxiety, and survival mode.

Tish admitted that she turned to marijuana while navigating the end of her 29-year marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus and the death of her mother, Loretta Finley, occurrences she described as twin tragedies.

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of “The Squeeze” podcast with Tay Lautner, the 58-year-old said she leaned into what she called “self-medicating” during that period.

“I’ve been very open that I was a major weed smoker,” Tish said. “I’ve always had a little bit of anxiety.” 

She explained that marijuana felt almost medicinal at the time, adding, “I do think at that time, that was almost like medicine for me - because I’m a huge believer in plant medicine.” 

As she processed losing her mother and watching her marriage fall apart, she said weed became a way to cope without fully realizing why. 

“I do think it kinda numbed all that pain,” Tish continued.

When Tish Cyrus decided to cut weed out of her routine, the effects were immediate and intense. 

She revealed that stopping triggered severe anxiety that left her unable to function. 

“Just in full-on anxiety to the point, [of] like, not functioning. And I did not know what was happening,” she said.

Tish explained that during the height of her grief, she didn’t pause to process what she was feeling. 

The “So Undercover” star later described that year as “freaking rough,” adding, “I did not, like, process or even stop to really think.” 

Looking back, she said marijuana helped her push through day to day, but it also masked emotions that surfaced later when she stopped using it. 

Those feelings, Tish admitted, were overwhelming and took time to understand.

Tish has long been outspoken about marijuana use, and she previously revealed that her daughter Miley Cyrus was the one who introduced her to it. 

During a 2024 appearance on “Call Her Daddy,” the mom of two said she didn’t smoke until Miley’s 2014 Bangerz tour, after a traumatic near-death experience involving an exploding bus.

“I did not smoke pot until the Bangerz tour, 10 years ago. I was like, ‘This is the devil, the gateway drug,’” she recalled. 

Struggling with sleepless nights, Tish said Miley stepped in. “Miley was like, ‘Mom, if you could just smoke weed,’” she recounted. 

“That’s how it started. I started smoking to go to sleep.” She later added, “I am a Christian, and I love weed.” 

Years later, Tish even reintroduced Miley to marijuana in 2018 after her daughter had stepped away from it.

Tish Cyrus said the loss of her mother hit her especially hard because of how deeply intertwined Finley was with their family life. 

Finley, who died in 2020 at 85, had been a constant presence, even joining Miley on red carpets and spending time on the “Hannah Montana” set.

“She’d go to the set with Miley and, just, my kids just worshiped her,” Tish explained. After that chapter ended, the family moved Finley into a nearby home. 

“She was just a massive part of our lives,” Tish said. When her mother passed, she revealed, “not long after that, my marriage started falling apart.” 

Tish filed for divorce in April 2022, stating she and Billy Ray Cyrus had stopped living together back in February 2020. Their divorce was finalized in 2023.

While weed may have helped numb the pain, Tish said therapy ultimately helped her begin to heal. 

“When I started therapy, and I really started talking about my life and moving out here and my kids in the business and what my life had been, [the therapist was] like, ‘Wow,’” she recalled.

Since ending her marriage to Billy Ray, she has found happiness with “Prison Break” actor Dominic Purcell. 

She revealed their relationship in November 2022, got engaged in April 2023, and married him in August.

“It was so safe,” she said, describing a relationship with far less drama. Still, she emphasized healing wasn’t instant. 

“There was no less suffering for me,” Tish said. “Like, I was not functioning for that year — I was just trying to survive.”