Billy Ray Cyrus filed for divorce/annulment from Firerose last week. Well, he filed for divorce but he’s seeking an annulment based on some kind of “fraud” on Firerose’s part. As I said at the time, Firerose has always given me huge con artist vibes and I find it hilariously suspicious that she just showed up one day, claiming to be an Australian songwriter with a curiously empty backstory. Still, Billy Ray married her last year. It only took him eight months of marriage to figure it out. Apparently, as soon as he filed for divorce, Firerose started running up all of his credit cards. Who could have ever predicted this turn of events??
Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose are going head to head in court over their finances. Weeks after filing for divorce, Cyrus filed on emergency motion in Tennessee court on Thursday, June 13 seeking a temporary restraining order that would keep his estranged wife from any “unauthorized” use of his personal and business credit cards and accounts.
The country singer, 62, alleged in documents obtained by PEOPLE that Firerose — real name Johanna Rose Hodges — has in recent weeks spent $96,986 on 37 unauthorized charges on his business account, including $70,665 in payments to her attorneys.
“As a result of these fraudulent charges… I am concerned that Ms. Hodges is in possession of other information that she may use to make fraudulent, unauthorized charges to my business and personal credit cards and accounts,” Cyrus wrote in an affidavit.
Cyrus claims in the documents that the charges began on May 23, the day he filed for divorce after nearly seven months of marriage. The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer cited irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct as reason for the split, and is also seeking an annulment on the grounds of fraud.
In a response to Cyrus’s emergency motion filing, Firerose, 37, said there was in fact “no emergency,” and that she has had access to his American Express credit card since June 2022.
“To claim Wife has made 37 unauthorized charges is untrue,” her attorneys wrote in the response filing, which was obtained by PEOPLE. “Throughout the divorce proceedings, the parties are to live as per the status quo during the marriage. Wife was simply living as she has since October 10, 2023, and Husband has no right to cut her off.” Firerose’s filing said that after she and Cyrus married in October 2023, she continued to use his cards with his full permission, and that the couple would “routinely go over” her expenses on the card in question.
Cyrus’ motion, meanwhile, alleges that he and Firerose, a musician, do not have any joint accounts, credit cards or real estate, and that neither party was ever an authorized signer or user on the other’s cards or accounts. He also claims that she owns real estate in Los Angeles worth over seven figures, and that she has more than $500,000 in “liquid and investment assets at her disposal.” The former Hannah Montana star is asking his estranged wife to refund or return anything she bought with his business credit card.
That last part is interesting – Firerose already owns real estate in LA and she has $500K stocked away? I don’t know enough about California divorces or who pays the divorce lawyers’ bills, but I honestly don’t have a problem with Firerose charging her divorce lawyers to Billy Ray’s credit cards. That’s honestly an “atta girl” moment for me. I loved when Christine Baumgartner did that to Kevin Costner too. I suspect both Billy Ray and Firerose are playing a bit fast and loose with the facts – I’m sure Billy Ray did give her a credit card to use, but I bet she was also running up some charges after he filed for divorce. Oh well. I’m expecting much more to come out of this divorce in the weeks to come.
Photos courtesy of Billy Ray’s IG.