Tish Cyrus is getting candid about a challenging time in her life.
The entrepreneur, 58, appeared as a guest on the Wednesday, January 14, episode of The Squeeze podcast hosted by Tay Lautner and recalled how, after her mother Loretta Finley passed away in 2020, and she went through her divorce from husband of almost three decades, Billy Ray Cyrus, in 2022, she used marijuana to cope.
“I’ve been very open that I was a major weed smoker. I’ve always had a little bit of anxiety,” she admitted. “I do think at that time, that was almost like medicine for me because I’m a huge believer in plant medicine.”
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“During the time I lost my mom and my marriage fell apart, that was like self-medicating in some ways, and I didn’t even realize that I was doing it for that reason, and no matter what it was, I do think it kinda numbed all that pain and then I stopped smoking and all of a sudden a week later I am just in full-on anxiety to the point like not functioning,” she continued.
The Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast host — who wed husband Dominic Purcell in 2023 — explained that after going on a vacation where she didn’t have access to the drug, she started to think, “I had overmedicated and not felt all of the things that I needed to feel,” relating to the death of her mom and divorce.
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“I have no idea if it was the marijuana or if it was just the time that this was all going to come to a head, but that is when I started having the worst anxiety was after I stopped smoking,” she confessed.
As for how she was able to quell her anxiety that came in 2024, Tish turned to therapy to heal.
“My therapist says even though you didn’t know it, you were self-medicating,” she shared. “And that is probably why you haven’t dealt with all this stuff.”
Later in the episode, Tish noted Purcell told her she’s more “present” since cutting back on smoking. Tish said she was “glad” he was honest because in her “last relationship, there was no communication.”