By EVAN ROSEN | erosen@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
Firerose has responded to estranged husband Billy Ray Cyrus’ divorce filing by submitting her own claims that he was verbally, emotionally and psychologically abusive during their relationship.
The 37-year-old Australian singer, born Johanna Rose Hodges, submitted her paperwork on Friday, weeks after Cyrus first filed for divorce on May 23, People Magazine reported.
She claimed her 62-year-old husband struggles with substance abuse, including marijuana and other drugs, which can make him “unpredictable and volatile,” according to legal documents obtained by the outlet.
(L-R) FIREROSE and Billy Ray Cyrus perform onstage during the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 23, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for ACM)
“Wife was the victim of extreme verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse,” the complaint stated, adding that Cyrus allegedly filed for divorce just a day before Firerose was scheduled to undergo a preventative double mastectomy.
She was previously diagnosed as being at-risk for breast cancer and was advised by doctors to have the surgery, the complaint stated.
In the weeks leading up to the surgery, Cyrus allegedly launched continuous verbal assaults at her, placing her “into an emotional and psychological prison.” She ultimately decided to postpone the surgery indefinitely, she said, as she had been relying on his past promises to pay for the procedure.
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Firerose also denied any inappropriate marital conduct, refuting Cyrus’ earlier claims of fraud in his petition for divorce and arguing it was Cyrus’ fault the relationship did not work.
Cyrus allegedly sabotaged her career and caused her to lose $415,000 after directing their shared manager to terminate their contract with her. She’s asking for unspecified alimony.
Cyrus, who recently filed a restraining order against Firerose, released a statement to Us Weekly through his representatives on Tuesday calling her complaint “especially confusing and suspicious in its 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.”
His representatives cite specific messages from Firerose in which she asks the country singer to work it out with her, adding she does not want to “live without” him.
“If Mr. Cyrus was truly guilty of the allegations that Ms. Hodges alleges in her pleadings, then it is mindboggling to try and explain why she would want to return to live with him. Furthermore, she was pleading with him to give her a chance to explain everything to him,” the statement added.