Liz Hurley goes Instagram official with new beau Billy Ray Cyrus
British actress Liz Hurley and country star Billy Ray Cyrus made the surprising announcement on Easter Sunday with an Instagram post featuring a picture of a kiss being shared on both of their pages.
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Billy Ray Cyrus is the definition of contentment.
The singer/songwriter/actor is readying the release of “The Hill,” his first album of new studio songs in 14 years, set to drop June 16.
Cyrus, forever associated with “Achy Breaky Heart” and for hair previously ridiculed and now envied, is also overflowing with gratitude.
He survived a bout of sepsis in 2024, worked with son Braison on “The Hill,” duets with daughter Noah on the album’s lead single, “On Our Way Along,” and recently reunited with daughter Miley to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Hannah Montana.”
Cyrus, 64, can also barely conceal his boyish excitement at the mention of his girlfriend since early 2025, British actress Elizabeth Hurley, who is next to him in the car as he chats while being driven through the English countryside.
“She’s a great lady. We’re pretty happy. It’s all been a lot of fun,” Cyrus says. “I do love the traveling and the churches and cathedrals and castles here. It looks a lot like Tennessee as far as the topography. This has all been a beautiful thing.”
Cyrus’ new album underscores his thicker vocals on songs such as “It’s Alright” and “You’re Not Here,” while lyrically, he chooses introspection over frivolity.
He tells us more about working with his family, his adoration of Johnny Cash and which hair care products he and Hurley share.
Question: This album is really a family affair for you, with Braison writing and producing and Noah on the single. What makes it special to work with your kids?
Billy Ray Cyrus: Music has always been our common denominator and the way we speak. Braison’s only request was that I hand him the reins, and that took all the pressure off for me. He put together a great band and we recorded at the Castle in Nashville, which is one of the best studios in the area. And then Noah came on board. She brings a lot of muscle to the record with that big voice of hers. My voice now is kind of like an old rock, like some kind of foundation for Noah to stand on.
Your voice sounds so interesting on this record, very Johnny Cash.
Oh, thank you. That’s a real good thing. You couldn’t make me feel better. Johnny Cash has always been a hero of mine. I’ll never forget that letter he wrote to me in 1992, when a year before that I lived in my car and was standing on broken dreams and locked doors that opened with “Achy Breaky Heart.” Johnny wrote me a letter that he’d seen me on TV and said (it) was good to be reminded that all good things come from Almighty God, that the good outweighs the bad. That letter was a North Star to me at that time of my life. I often ask myself, “What would Johnny do?”
In what types of circumstances?
Even when Lil Nas X reached out about (having me) on (the 2019 country-rap hit) “Old Town Road” I thought: What would Johnny Cash do? He would help this kid cross the barrier and expand the genre and take the music places around the world. Johnny understood that music is a universal language, and I think my purpose in music is bringing people together.
Johnny also had a late-career resurgence that was very personal. Did that era influence “The Hill”?
Yes ma’am, in a very big way. You just keep on doing what you do because you love it. Persistence is not a glamorous word, but it’s an important word. It’s not the force of a jackhammer that breaks the concrete, it’s the repetition.
Since we’re talking about family, what it was like being with Miley for the “Hannah Montana” anniversary?
It was so great. Going full circle and hearing from fans around the world, all finding some common denominator whether through the music or the “Hannah Montana” documentary (“Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” on Hulu and Disney+). There are moments in your career when you have to reinvent yourself. I learned that from Dolly (Parton). She’s the queen of reinvention. And Carl Perkins once told me: “Don’t be chasing the cat’s tail. Be the cat.” Look for something new and create a new sound.
Your relationship with Miley has had its ups and downs, but how has music helped reconnect you?
It’s been so good. That’s our lifeblood and how we communicate. Since she was a baby, she’s been on this ride and seen the peaks and valleys and knows when you’re in this business it’s all a circus, and at some point, hopefully you get to play in the big top. … Our relationship has never been better.
What is the significance of the album title “The Hill”?
We’re all up against the hill. The hill has peaks and valleys, so it’s a metaphor for life. (Where I grew up) in Louisa, Kentucky, we had a place called Smokey Valley. That was where our family cemetery was. My papa was a Pentecostal preacher and had a church up there, and it was on top of the hill. Throughout my life I’ve had two or three particular hills that have meant a lot to me, musically and personally. When Elizabeth and I became friends, she had a hill, too. We’d sit and watch birds and the countryside. So as I lived this moment of making the album, it was obvious it should be the title.
Do you feel like you’re in a different headspace now creatively because of your relationship with Elizabeth?
It’s been a complete evolution of life. Just keeping it real and honest and the truth in the music, but also feeling a passion for life that I never felt before. Having someone as great as Elizabeth to be my friend … we laugh, we love nature. I’ve never known such peace of mind. Life is good; I’m happy. It’s kind of fun seeing her world. It’s just a good time to celebrate life and the joy it can be again. She and I kind of came together at the moment when we started recording, so (the album and relationship) all became one.
Do you and Elizabeth share hair care products?
(Laughs) Yeah, we do! She always wanted to own a beauty shop, so she’s got the product – Bumble and Bumble. She cuts my hair, she styles it. She is fully in charge of hair.
What does success look like to you now compared with 10 or 20 years ago?
I think right now having the peace of mind, the joy of being happy, of being in love. I love the music that Braison and I made together. Everything feels so real at this point. I was in a church a few hours ago (in England) and knelt at the pew and prayed and thought, “Wow man, Johnny was so right. All of these blessings around me, all things from God above.”
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