Billy Ray Cyrus has confirmed his engagement to Firerose.
The musicians sparked engagement rumours last month when they shared a series of selfies on Instagram and a sparkler could be clearly seen on Firerose's ring finger.
The Achy Breaky Heart star and Australian singer revealed in an interview with People on Wednesday that the 61-year-old popped the question back in August, although he had no ring and didn't get down on one knee.
"Billy looked at me and said, 'Do you, do you wanna marry me?' And I was just like, 'Of course I do. I love you,'" said Firerose, who later picked out a diamond and designed her own ring. "He said, 'I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.'"
The country music star recalled how he met 34-year-old Firerose - which was a nickname but is now her legal name - 12 years ago. He was walking his dog Tex around the Disney lot in Los Angeles during downtime from Hannah Montana when Firerose came out of an audition and greeted the pooch. He asked her if she wanted to come back to the studio to be introduced to the show's cast and crew and she accepted the offer.
Billy Ray and Firerose became friends and during the pandemic, they also became music collaborators. Their relationship gradually evolved and he asked Firerose if they could be more than friends.
"When we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn't know could exist. Again, we're musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life," he shared.
In April this year, Billy Ray's then-wife Tish Cyrus filed for divorce for the third time after 28 years of marriage and revealed the pair had not lived together in over two years. People reports that the divorce is now finalised.
Despite rumours of a rift with his children, Billy Ray insisted they have no hard feelings about his new romance.
"Everyone knew that that relationship was over a long time ago," he stated. "Everybody's turning the page. It's been a lot, but everyone knew that it was time for a change."
Billy Ray wed Tish in December 1993, with the couple sharing children Miley, 29, Braison, 28, and 22-year-old Noah. He also adopted Tish's children Brandi, 35, and Trace, 33, and has a 30-year-old son named Christopher from an earlier relationship.
