Miley Cyrus says ‘angel’ godmother Dolly Parton is ‘always by her side’

Miley Cyrus has shared a touching tribute to her ‘Aunt Dolly’ following the death of the country music icon at age 80.

The Wrecking Ball singer posted the emotional message on Instagram a day after the death of Parton was publicly announced.

Parton became the former Disney star’s godmother after forming a close friendship with her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, during their 1992 tour together.

Miley penned: ‘The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.

‘What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.

‘I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things.’

The pair were close and often performed together over the years, with Parton even making cameo appearances on ‘Hannah Montana’ series, which shot Cyrus to fame.

Speaking about Cyrus, Parton told People magazine last year: ‘I love her.

‘She’s always trying new things. Some of them work great, some of them don’t, but she’s learned a lot. If you don’t have the nerve to try it, you’re never going to know. That’s kind of like my philosophy.’

Parton was fiercely supportive of Cyrus when she began breaking away from the image of a Disney child star, a machine she had been part of throughout her teens.

Cyrus came under fire in the early 2010s when she twerked on Robin Thicke and stripped down on stage at the 2013 MTV Music Awards, but Parton supported her goddaughter through the public storm.

The 9 to 5 singer told Us Weekly in 2014: ‘She was spectacular on that, but she just needed and wanted so bad to break out of that and wanted to become Miley Cyrus and she tried every way in the world to do it and nobody would let her go. So, she just had to resort to extreme measures but she pulled it off.’

On stage, the duo have performed some of Parton’s iconic hits together, including Jolene several times over the years.

They joined forces for the 2019 Grammys gala, where Parton joined in on a special tribute performance of Jolene.

Privately, Cyrus often sought advice on business decisions, Parton has revealed.