Billy Ray Cyrus credits Elizabeth Hurley romance for making him the happiest he’s been in a ‘long time’

Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus debuted new romance Easter Sunday

Elizabeth Hurley reached out to Billy Ray Cyrus while he was in a difficult place after his divorce from singer Firerose.

The former co-stars, who recently went Instagram official with a kissing snap shared on Easter Sunday, reconnected over text, with Hurley making the first move nearly two years after they worked on the 2022 film “Christmas in Paradise.”

Cyrus, who will debut his new song “Ask (Honor Song)” Friday, told “The Ty Bentli Show” their blossoming relationship is a gift from God, and he’s the happiest he’s been with his new romance.

Billy Ray Cyrus shared details about his blossoming romance with Elizabeth Hurley. (Getty Images)

“It’s just been beautiful,” Cyrus, 63, said, noting there’s “no expectations of where we go from here other than her and her son. I do love him a lot, and it’s great that God brought them into my life when he did. It’s just a good thing.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy.”

Hurley, 59, smiled widely as the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer kissed her on the cheek while wearing a festive pair of green bunny ears in a photo shared with both of their millions of social media followers on Easter.

The country star recalled meeting Hurley years ago and feeling “chemistry” while they worked on the romantic comedy featuring Kelsey Grammer.

Hurley and Cyrus worked alongside Kelsey Grammar in the 2022 film “Christmas in Paradise.” (Lionsgate)

“We did very few scenes together, but the couple times we were in the same scene, there was a chemistry there that felt … we just laughed, and it was at a time I wasn’t laughing a lot. And I found out the oddest thing,” he said of Hurley.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy.”

— Billy Ray Cyrus

“I’ve obviously, I know all about her life and career and me, a kid from Flatwoods, Kentucky, going to sit and pretend I’m an actor with Elizabeth Hurley knowing that, wait, how did this happen? And the oddest part was first how much we laughed.

“Second, I figured we were so different, but in some very strange way, we had way more in common than we had different. And then we did our couple scenes, and I left the island. And we didn’t speak for two years, and the pandemic continued on. That was in 2022.”

Cyrus was in the throes of divorce from his third wife when Hurley contacted him unexpectedly.

Elizabeth Hurley has one son, Damian Hurley, with late producer Steve Bing.  (Dave Bennett)

“I felt like, ‘Wow, can life get any harder? Can it get any tougher?’ For me, at a certain point, it was like, ‘You can’t get knocked down any flatter than laying on your back when life is kicking you,’” Cyrus said. “And, in this moment, this hand kind of reached out in a text message, not a physical hand, as in the one you saw in the picture. That’d be good. A friend reached out.”

At the time, he “didn’t even know the number” of the person who sent him a text along the lines of, “Hey, it looks like life might be a little bit tough and just wanted you to know I’m in your corner; you’ve got a friend in your corner.”

“So, I text back, I go, ‘Who is this?’ And it’s like, ‘Elizabeth Hurley.’ Of all the people to reach out to me in that second that maybe I needed most,” Cyrus said. “This friend that made me laugh.

Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose divorced in August. (Weiss Eubanks)

“If all we ever were [is] the friends that we are, I would take that. She’s so impressively brilliant. She reminds me a lot of Dolly Parton. She’s a very smart businesswoman. If you can laugh together, you can make it through everything.”