Firerose Accuses Ex Billy Ray Cyrus of ‘Extreme Verbal, Emotional Abuse’ in Divorce Filings

In a scathing reaction to Billy Ray Cyrus's divorce papers, his ex Firerose has accused him of 'extreme' domestic violence. PEOPLE acquired the singer's counter-complaint on Tuesday, June 14, in which she charged her estranged spouse with 'extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse' due to his 'unpredictable and volatile' conduct.

His conduct, according to her Tennessee court filings, was allegedly impacted by his 'persistent drug use accompanied with the consumption of marijuana.' Firerose also alleged in the complaint that Cyrus filed for divorce the day before she was scheduled to have a double mastectomy as a preventative measure, per PageSix. “Wife was the victim of extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse,” Firerose’s attorneys wrote in the complaint. “Wife was subjected to Husband’s persistent drug use accompanied with the consumption of marijuana which made Husband unpredictable and volatile towards Wife.”

It was Cyrus who filed for divorce on May 23, almost seven months after they had gotten married, citing irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital behavior. He also submitted documentation asking for the annulment on the grounds of 'fraud.' Firerose responded by denying any wrongdoing on her part as a married couple and blaming Cyrus for acting in a way that made their cohabitation 'unsafe.' According to the complaint, Firerose was identified in 2020 as a carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation. In March of last year, she was told that a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery were necessary as a preventive measure.

The Australian musician said in her complaint that the weeks preceding her May 24, 2024, operation were 'chaotic,' with Cyrus 'continuously launching verbal assaults' at her and 'pushing her into an emotional and psychological prison.' Firerose, 36, said she had to 'walk on eggshells' in her own home in the days counting down to the surgery. “With Wife’s major surgery date looming, she was reasonably afraid to leave or seek any type of help because she feared that Husband would interfere with her surgery or her lengthy recovery at home,” her filing read.

“When Wife would attempt to voice certain concerns, Husband would often call her a ‘selfish f---ing bitch’ and continually alleged that she was using him,” the complaint said. In the complaint, Firerose claims that for three and a half hours on May 23, hours before she was scheduled for surgery, Cyrus' brother and sister-in-law repeatedly knocked on her bedroom door, asking that she leave their shared residence. She did, however, delay her operation 'indefinitely' because she was supposedly depending on Cyrus' health insurance and prior 'promises to pay for her surgery' and didn't have anywhere to live.

Cyrus, however, through his representative, denied such allegations and stated that Firerose was still utterly in love with him in a statement to Page Six. “We regret that Ms. Hodges has chosen to litigate this 7-month marriage in the press and has left Mr. Cyrus with no recourse but to set the record straight,” the statement began. “The allegations that Ms. Hodges states in her answer and counter-complaint are especially confusing and suspicious in their veracity since she begged Mr. Cyrus to forgive her and take her back only 2 days after he filed his pleadings to dissolve his marriage.”