Billy Ray Cyrus took to Instagram to send a sweet message to his daughter, Miley Cyrus, amid an alleged family rift.
Billy Ray Cyrus is looking back on cherished moments with his superstar daughter, Miley Cyrus, amid speculation of a strained relationship within the famous family.
The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer, 62, shared a framed throwback photo of himself holding a young Miley at a CMA Fest event, which was formerly known as Fan Fair.
"One of my best memories ever: @cma Fest, back when it was Fan Fair," Billy Ray captioned the post on Friday. "That's @mileycyrus and me, surrounded by thousands of incredible fans at the fairgrounds."
He revealed the heartwarming backstory behind the image, writing, "The next day, someone handed me this picture, and I wrote that poem right then on the bus."
Despite any perceived tensions, Billy Ray expressed immense pride in Miley's massive success as a "survivor and a true artist."
"I'm incredibly proud of her," the country star continued. "She's a survivor and a true artist. She learned early on to love and appreciate the fans who make everything possible. We both cherish the connection we have with our fans and are grateful for every single one of you!"
The post comes as Billy Ray's relationship with Miley, 30, has appeared strained in the two years since his divorce from Tish Cyrus after nearly 30 years of marriage.
In February, Miley secured her status as a two-time GRAMMY winner, with her chart-topping hit, "Flowers," crowned as Record of the Year. Cyrus took the stage to thunderous applause at Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena, expressing gratitude for the award and attempting to keep things grounded. "This award is amazing. But I really hope that it doesn't change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday. Not everyone in the world will get a GRAMMY, but everyone in this world is spectacular," she said.
The singer went on to thank various individuals who contributed to her success, including her team, friends, family, and loved ones. However, noticeably absent from her list of those to thank was a mention of her father, Billy Ray, who has been a significant presence in her life and career since her starring role in Disney's Hannah Montana.
Cyrus family drama has made headlines as of late, due to it being rumored that Noah Cyrus and 54-year-old Dominic Purcell had a romantic relationship before Tish married the Prison Break star.
In March, a source told ET that the reporting about Noah Cyrus and Dominic Purcell has been "exaggerated," but noted that "Noah and Tish haven't been close since Tish started dating Dominic."
"It's also been an adjustment for Noah in general for her parents to be divorced," the source added of Tish and Billy Ray. "Tish didn't invite Noah to her wedding because she thought it would cause a scene and drama."
As for her relationship with her father, the source says, "Miley and Billy Ray are totally fine."
Shortly thereafter, a second source told ET, "Noah stopped seeing Dominic and Tish decided to pursue him and did not tell Noah."
"Tish was the one who did not invite Noah and [son] Braison to her wedding, and blocked them on Instagram after she pursued Dominic," the source added. "... It was Tish who requested security at her wedding to keep Noah and Braison out."
Around the same time, Tish admitted that there were "issues" in her marriage. Tish explained that the problems come from the fact that she takes "things so personally," while her husband is "just very blunt, like, there is no warm and fuzzy."
"But you know what? This is where I've grown, is like, I just feel like instead now of me getting so offended, because I respect and love him, that we have conversations," Tish continued. "And instead [of] getting so upset and heated about it and me not taking it personally, just letting him have an opinion. I've never been good at that."
These things "are definitely issues," Tish said, "but issues also, because I love him, that I'm dealing with."
Though Noah did share a birthday tribute to her mom in May, a source told ET that their relationship is still rocky.
"Noah and Tish's relationship is still very strained, but things are improving. Noah texted Tish for her birthday on May 13 and Tish was happy to hear from her," the source said. "This whole drama has been upsetting for Tish and she has reached out to close friends for advice on how to fix things."
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