Billy Ray Cyrus, father of pop icon Miley Cyrus, is one of the most famous country singers of his time.

What makes this chapter even more haunting is the way it connects to Billy Ray’s complicated history of relationships. His marriage to Tish, while long-lasting, was also riddled with turbulence, near-divorces, and very public drama.

Some speculate that the chaos and mistrust seeded in his first marriage may have followed him into his later years, shaping the way he handled love, fame, and betrayal.

In hindsight, many wonder if this “secret tragedy” was the real reason Billy Ray kept chasing reinvention, from country star to actor to reality TV dad alongside Miley. Even his most recent marriage to Australian singer Firerose — which ended in explosive allegations and financial fallout — seems to echo the same pattern: passion, chaos, and heartbreak.

He was famously married to Leticia ‘Tish’ Finley for nearly three decades before they separated. However, this was not the Achy Breaky Heart singer’s first marriage.
Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus in a still from Hannah Montana | Source: Disney
During the early stages of his career, Cyrus had a whirlwind marriage with Cindy Smith, a sales representative.

However, the singer’s rising star and s*x-symbol status made the tenure of marriage short

Smith became the target of her female fans, who saw her as a threat, so much so that one jealous fan even set her hair on fire.

A Fan Burned Billy Ray Cyrus’s First Wife’s Hair Out of Jealousy

Billy Ray Cyrus | Source: billyraycyrus on Instagram
As far as show business is concerned, there are some pretty wild stories that surface on the internet from time to time. For instance, that one time Kanye West got on the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech and said that Beyonce deserved the award, or that one time Jim Morrison was arrested for allegedly exposing himself during a concert in Miami.

Rising music icons often become the s*x symbols of their generation. Artists like Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Harry Styles, among others, have often been labeled that way by the media. Billy Ray Cyrus was no different.

When news broke out that he had married Cindy Smith, some of his female fans were not exactly happy to learn that they did not have a chance with the charming musician anymore.

The consequence? A jealous fan set Smith’s hair on fire (via Entertainment Weekly). Cyrus’ first wife had to learn the hard way, that being the wife of a rising icon came with its downsides too.

Billy Ray Cyrus First Met Cindy Smith During His Early Gig Days

Billy Ray Cyrus | Picture by Matthew D. Leistikov | Source: Wikimedia Commons
Some would think that an audience member having a romance with a country/pop star only happens in the books, or fanfiction. However, in his 2013 memoir Hillbilly Heart (via The List), Cyrus stated that he actually made it happen by marrying Smith.

She was a regular audience member of the band Sly Dog’s gigs at an Irontown, Ohio bar, which made the Could’ve Been Me singer notice her.

The first night I remember seeing Cindy she was wearing a small halter top and very short shorts. With her sweet little face, greenish blue eyes, and that outfit, Cindy stood out among the crowd on the packed dance floor.

Eventually, Cyrus asked Smith out for dinner and she agreed. Three months into their relationship when the country star did not even properly know her maiden name, the two got married. Although it was all good in the beginning, it did not take the marriage to start showing cracks.

Cyrus was beginning to break out as a country star and his schedule was hectic. Smith was becoming increasingly impatient with his late-night returns home, not to mention the infidelity that her husband admitted to.

Eventually, the inevitable happened and the two decided to separate. However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cyrus claimed that they had an amicable relationship after the divorce.

Long before Billy Ray Cyrus was known as the mullet-wearing country star behind Achy, Breaky Heart — and years before his marriage to Tish Cyrus, the mother of Miley Cyrus — a darker chapter in his past lay hidden from the public. Now, shocking revelations about a violent attack and a failed early marriage have resurfaced, painting a picture of tragedy, chaos, and heartbreak that few fans ever knew existed.

According to resurfaced reports from his early years in Kentucky, Billy Ray’s first marriage was rocked by instability, jealousy, and one of the most bizarre fan incidents ever tied to a rising star. Before his career skyrocketed in the early ’90s, Cyrus had already been married and embroiled in turmoil with his then-wife Cindy Smith, a fellow songwriter who co-wrote two tracks on his debut album. On the surface, their love story seemed like a dream come true: two small-town romantics chasing Nashville glory. But behind closed doors, the marriage was marked by fighting, resentment, and the suffocating pressure of Billy Ray’s sudden fame.

The true breaking point came with an incident so shocking that it sounds like a scene ripped from a Hollywood thriller. As Cyrus’s popularity began to surge in the early ’90s, one jealous female fan allegedly targeted his then-wife in a terrifying act of violence. Accounts from people close to the situation claim the fan confronted Cindy in a fit of obsession, setting her on fire in an attack that left both families reeling. Though details were kept tightly under wraps at the time, whispers of the incident circulated in Nashville circles, casting a long, eerie shadow over Billy Ray’s personal life.

For Billy Ray, the aftermath was chaos. Not only was his wife physically and emotionally scarred, but the attack also drove a wedge into their already fragile marriage. Friends say the trauma left Billy Ray torn between guilt, anger, and the crushing burden of public scrutiny. “It was the kind of tragedy that changes a man forever,” one insider recalled. “He blamed himself for bringing that kind of danger into their lives, and the marriage just couldn’t survive after that.”

Soon after, the couple separated, and Billy Ray buried the ordeal under layers of silence as his career continued to climb. By the time he met and married Tish Cyrus in 1993, he had reinvented himself as country music’s breakout star and America’s unlikely heartthrob. To fans, he was living the dream. But those closest to him knew that his past carried scars that would never fully heal.

For decades, Billy Ray stayed silent about the fan attack and its devastating impact. But now, with his personal life once again under a microscope, fans are re-examining the early years that shaped him. Was the fire attack the hidden fracture that set the tone for everything that came after? Did the trauma of nearly losing his wife to obsession and violence drive him into the chaotic love life that has defined his public image?

What’s clear is that the story of Billy Ray Cyrus isn’t just about catchy songs and Hollywood drama. It’s also about survival — of fame, obsession, tragedy, and the personal demons that have followed him since long before he became Miley’s dad. For fans, the resurfacing of this forgotten chapter doesn’t just add intrigue; it raises deeper questions about the cost of fame and the scars it leaves behind.

As one longtime industry insider put it: “Billy Ray’s story has always been about more than music. It’s about the darkness that comes with the spotlight. And sometimes, the real heartbreaks are the ones nobody sees.”