Don't break my card! Billy Ray Cyrus accuses Firerose of $96K in credit card fraud amid split
Billy Ray Cyrus wants to cut ties with Firerose in more ways than one.
The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer has requested a temporary restraining order against his Australian bride, alleging that she racked up more than $96,000 worth of purchases on his personal and business credit cards. He filed his emergency motion in Williamson County Court in Tennessee last week, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times.
Cyrus is asking the court to keep Firerose (real name Johanna Rosie Hodges) and her team "from the unauthorized use" of his credit cards and financial accounts. The singer, father of Miley Cyrus, also requests that his estranged wife of less than a year reimburse him for all "unauthorized" funds obtained from his business card.
Read more:Billy Ray Cyrus splits with Firerose, reportedly alleging fraud and seeking annulment
A legal representatives for Cyrus did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment. Firerose's attorney did not comment.
Cyrus, 62, and Firerose, 34, married in October after a year-long engagement but separated last month. The country star filed his complaint for an annulment on May 23, alleging fraud, according to legal documents. A day later, the spouses agreed that Firerose would vacate Cyrus' home and that he would provide her "some financial support" for 90 days, or until their marriage was officially over.
Last week, Cyrus' management learned that Firerose had allegedly used the "Hannah Montana" star's American Express card for 37 "unauthorized" charges from May 23 to June 7 and totaling $96,986.05. According to the motion, Firerose allegedly charged to Cyrus' card more than $70,000 in attorney fees, including a $58,000 bill for her current reps, upward of $6,000 in Delta flights to and from Nashville and Los Angeles, and $10,261.20 to the U.S. Treasury, among other purchases.
The motion alleges that Firerose booked and canceled the Delta flights to rack up "future flight credits" and says that her current legal team has refunded Cyrus a significant portion of her bill.
Read more:Billy Ray Cyrus confirms engagement to 'the real deal' he met filming 'Hannah Montana'
In addition to Firerose's reimbursement, Cyrus asks the court to award him reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
Billy Ray Cyrus met Firerose near the set of Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," which starred Miley Cyrus as its titular teen pop sensation from 2006 to 2011. At the time, he was married to Tish Cyrus, though they officially called it quits in April 2022.
In the years since their first meeting, the two musicians grew closer, eventually becoming songwriting partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Cyrus popped the question in November 2022.
“When we began sharing the music, it just evolved ... as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that ... I didn’t know could exist," he told People two years ago. "We’re musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life.”
Now it seems all that harmony, rhythm and melody has come to an end — and a pricey end at that.
Times researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
