Billy Ray Cyrus has hit back after his estranged wife Firerose accused him of psychologically abusing her, Daily Mail reports.
The country singer’s legal team responded to the accusations by producing evidence of texts and notes she sent to him after he filed for divorce, indicating she had sought to reconcile the marriage, according to the report by Daily Mail.
Firerose’s claims ‘are especially confusing and suspicious in its veracity since she begged Cyrus to forgive her and take her back only two days after he filed his pleadings to dissolve his marriage,’ reps for Billy Ray Cyrus said in a statement to DailyMail on Tuesday.
A copy of the legal filings by Billy Ray Cyrus as obtained by Daily Mail, shows the filings were submited the singer’s lawyers to the court Williamson County, Tennessee on Monday.
Excerpts from the court filing include a screenshot of a text message and a picture of a handwritten note Firerose, 35, wrote to Cyrus, 62, days after he filed for divorce May 23 after around seven months of marriage.
In both the text and note, Firerose, whose real name is Johanna Rose Hodges, appears to be trying to salvage the relationship amid difficult circumstances she did not provide specific examples of.
Cyrus’s reps said that the handwritten note – ‘professing her love and need to be with’ the Achy Breaky Heart vocalist – was penned by Firerose and left for Cyrus after she vacated their one-time home under court order.
The note read, ‘I miss you more than I can possibly explain in words Baby. Please lets work this out and not become anything but closer out of this hellish experience. I need you. I love you. I am so sorry.’
Cyrus’s reps said Firerose penned a long text message which ‘clearly speaks for itself’ – as she said she wanted to make peace with him, and had been very upset about their relationship issues.
‘If Cyrus was truly guilty of the allegations that [Firerose ] alleges in her pleadings, then it is mindboggling to try and explain why she would want to return to live with him,’ the reps said. ‘Furthermore, she was pleading with him to give her a chance to explain everything to him.’
‘I am listening to you baby,’ she said. ‘I love you. I don’t want us to be on different sides fighting the war that nobody wins.
‘I am going to do what you’re telling me because you promised me we can talk as soon as I’ve left and I trust you. I’m praying with my entire soul that we can find each other again today.’
Firerose continued: ‘I feel completely lost and miss you more than I can explain. And you will know I’m listening to you and showing you with my actions. We need to be kind and loving to each other no matter what happens.
‘You have been my best friend in the world every day for over 4 years. 24/7. I miss you terribly. My heart is shattered & I need the best friend right now more than ever.’
Firerose said that she had lost her appetite amid the relationship woes: ‘I lost 5 pounds since Wednesday. I just can’t eat no matter how much I tried. I don’t wanna live without you.
‘Please give me a chance to make this right. I can explain everything but I need you on my side. I need my hero back.’
Cyrus’s reps said in the aforementioned statement that Firerose’s decision ‘to litigate this 7-month marriage in the press … has left Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus with no recourse but to set the record straight.’
The reps cited the court filing Billy Ray Cyrus entered in an effort ‘to file an amended and supplemental complaint for annulment and divorce’ which ‘sets forth the specifics of [his] fraud allegations and proof of [his] allegations that he was defrauded in his inducement to marry’ Firerose.
In the legal filing from Cyrus on Monday, he said that Firerose sought to deceive him in an effort to marry into the famed family to boost her career.
Cyrus’ legal team said in the court filing that Cyrus trusted Firerose and ‘falsely believed she was an honest person.’
Cyrus’ team said that Firerose has used his American Express card 37 times since he filed for divorce less than a month ago, racking up more than $96,000 in unauthorized charges.
The charges included multiple cross-country flights, legal fees, her outstanding tax obligations and Venmo payments.
Cyrus’ team said that Firerose had misled him into believing she hadn’t been married before, and made the claim on a joint appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show last October.
Cyrus’ team said in court docs that Firerose had conducted ‘a campaign’ to isolate him from his family, and blocked at least one of his daughters from being able to contact him.
Firerose in a legal complaint June 14 in Tennessee that Cyrus would conduct himself in an ‘unpredictable and volatile’ manner and that she ‘was the victim of extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse.’