Fans couldn’t believe their eyes: On May 9, Billy Ray Cyrus shared a selfie with his son Braison on his farm in Tennessee to Instagram. Also in the picture: his estranged daughter Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend Maxx Morando.

“The Cyrus family is healing,” commented one social media user, while another added that the pic “Makes me happy for the whole fam!”

Days later, the “Flowers” singer shared a candid Insta story addressing longstanding rumors surrounding the pair’s complicated relationship. “My dad and I have had our challenges over the years,” she admitted. “Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I’m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing.”

Billy Ray broke his silence as well, praising his daughter for bringing “her wisdom and strength” to their family when they needed it the most, adding, “We are so close to fully healing.”

Though it’s still a work in progress, both Miley, 32, and Billy Ray, 63, are feeling hopeful about the future. “They’re building on their relationship,” a source tells Star of the pair who reportedly had a falling-out in 2022 following Billy Ray’s divorce from Miley’s mom, Tish Cyrus, after 28 years of marriage. (Cracks within the entire Cyrus family reportedly deepened when Tish, 58, began dating Prison Break star Dominic Purcell, 55, later that year; they wed in 2023.)

“Billy Ray and Miley say life is too short to stay mad at people,” adds the source. “It’s baby steps, but they’re talking and getting closer, and the love is there.”

Broken Bond

They’ve had their ups and downs since the father-daughter duo became superstars on Disney’s Hannah Montana. According to the source, Miley’s already strained relationship with her father went from bad to worse when Billy Ray got engaged to Aussie singer Firerose, 36, in August 2022 — just four months after his marriage to Tish came to an end. (They wed in October 2023.)

“Miley had a huge problem with the way Billy Ray treated Tish. He’d been a real jerk to her mom for a long time even before the divorce. It hurt to see what her mom put up with,” explains the source. “Then to see her dad make a fool of himself by marrying someone young enough to be his daughter was the final straw.” It didn’t help that the couple had met on the Hannah Montana set years before.

At the time of his marriage, the “Old Town Road” singer was in a downward spiral. He filed for divorce from Firerose just seven months after tying the knot, with both hurling accusations of physical, mental and verbal abuse, as well as her claim that Billy Ray was a “persistent” drug user. (Both denied all allegations.)

Months later, Billy Ray generated more negative headlines for his disastrous performance at January’s Liberty Ball — as well as a public plea from his son Trace, 36, to turn things around amid his ongoing estrangement from several of the Cyrus clan. (The Grammy winner adopted Tish’s kids Brandi, 37, and Trace when they wed in 1993; they went on to welcome Miley, Braison, 31, and Noah, 25. He’s also dad to Christopher Cody, 33, from his romance with ex Kristin Luckey.)

“Miley was concerned like everyone else,” says the source, adding that despite leaving Billy Ray out of her Grammy acceptance speech in early February, “She’s now reaching out more and staying in contact.”

Matters Of The Heart

Another factor in their turnaround might be Billy Ray’s new romance with his Christmas in Paradise costar Elizabeth Hurley, 59.

“He’s a lot calmer these days,” reveals the source, crediting the fact that the hitmaker feels “happy and secure” in the relationship. “She’s brought joy back into his life.”

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It’s also given him the clarity to help right his wrongs with not just Miley, but all of his kids. “Billy Ray realizes he was a fool and he’s sorry. He’s owned up to his past mistakes and has been begging forgiveness from his family,” says the source.

“The Cyrus family has always been a high-strung bunch with clashing personalities and egos, but things are getting better and they’re learning to accept each other’s faults along with their virtues.”