Last October, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Finley announced they were divorcing. It’s been chaos ever since, and the tabloids have been going over every dirty detail they could find about Billy Ray, Tish and Miley. Allegedly, Billy Ray was mad because Tish was maybe screwing around on him with Bret Michaels (and maybe somebody else too). There were fights about money. The other Cyrus children were “acting out” and Miley was videotaped smoking a bong. Then, last month, The Mullet sat down for an exhaustive and comprehensive interview with GQ Magazine (go here for our coverage) – he blamed himself for his family’s demise, he said he basically sold his kid to Disney, he talked about his failings as a man, and he made it sound like Miley wasn’t even speaking to him anymore. After that, things simmered down. Miley forced her dad to cancel some media appearances and The Mullet stopped talking so much. And now there’s another chapter to this ongoing mullet-y saga: Billy Ray is “dropping” the divorce!

How do you mend an achy breaky heart? Billy Ray Cyrus says he’s doing everything he can.

“I’ve dropped the divorce,” Cyrus, 49, said during an interview on The View scheduled to air on Friday. “I want to put my family back together … Things are the best they’ve ever been.”

“I feel like I got my Miley back,” he added during Thursday’s taping. “I feel like we’re the daddy and daughter we were before Hannah Montana.”

But the last few months have not been easy for Cyrus.

In October, he and wife Tish issued a joint statement announcing plans to end their 17-year marriage. A few months later, a startling video went viral of the couple’s daughter, Miley, smoking natural herb salvia out of a bong.

Then, in an unguarded interview with GQ, he blamed Hannah Montana for “destroying my family,” and said he felt Miley surrounded herself with people who put her “in a great deal of danger.”

At the time, Billy Ray also told PEOPLE he was doing everything he could to find family unity again, saying in an exclusive statement, “It is very important to me to work on mending my family right now.”

Even now, Cyrus still maintains his family would be in a better place if Miley didn’t become a celebrity.

“Hannah Montana didn’t ruin my family,” he said during the View taping Thursday. “Fame did.”

“Sometimes when you get in this ride,” he said, “you feel like you’re strapped to a rocket.”

[From People]

Do you buy this contrition? Is that even what The Mullet is aiming for? I do think The Mullet was emotionally blackmailing Tish and Miley with that GQ interview – he was letting them know that he wasn’t just going to fade away quietly, that if he was going, he was taking them with him. Well, he got what he wanted. Miley is now speaking to him again, and Tish must be gritting her teeth through this reconciliation. Ten bucks says that even though the divorce is being “dropped” that Tish and The Mullet still live in separate homes.

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

Yesterday, Billy Ray Cyrus’s GQ interview made the rounds, and it quickly became the story of the day. The Mullet opened up – for six long pages – about his faith, his mistakes as a parent, how Hannah Montana and Disney destroyed his family, and how he wished he could do everything differently. Go here for a recap. Maybe The Mullet was speaking from the heart, maybe he was coming across as truly hurt and destroyed, or maybe it was just yet another dumb move in the tainted history of Cyrus Family badness.

So… instead of answering her father’s appeals or issuing her own statement in kind, Miley and her mother Tish chose to do a photo op together, hours after The Mullet’s interview came out. The message seems to be (in my mind): “Nothing to see here, no emergency, no tragedy, just a teenager hanging out with her mom, because the teenager can’t hang out with her dad, because he’s crazy.” That’s how I read it.

Also – Fame Pictures has these pics labeled “Miley’s Weight Gain”. I know many, many people noted Miley’s apparent weight gain or bloated appearance at the Grammys, so let’s discuss it. If you look at her body, she really hasn’t gained weight, that I can see. Her face is just a little puffy, which may be from alcohol, or maybe from too much salty food. Who knows? I won’t defend Miley about most of her junk, but I will defend her puffy face and her “weight gain”. She’s 18 years old, for God’s sake! Were you eating healthy and always sleek and not puffy when you were 18?

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Late Tuesday, Us Weekly released their “scandalous” report that Miley Cyrus’s parents were divorcing after Billy Ray found out that his wife Tish was boning Bret Michaels, amongst others. Us Weekly’s sources claimed that Tish and Bret had a full-fledged affair, and that Billy Ray found out it and basically told Tish that their marriage was over. The whole thing was first reported by Star Magazine, back in February of this year. Now Star is getting back into the act, with a follow-up to their February story, in this week’s new cover story. Star reiterates the claim that Tish and Bret were bonin’ but they add a new wrinkle on the divorce proceedings: Tish and The Mullet are fighting over Miley’s money. Because Miley is the only one supporting herself, and the entire family. Ugh. That’s worse than the affair story, in my opinion.

Turning 18 should be an exciting milestone for Miley Cyrus, but it’s hard to celebrate with her family life in meltdown mode. In the Nov. 15 issue of Star, on sale Wednesday, we reveal that Billy Ray Cyrus is divorcing his wife, Tish, in part because she was carrying on with rocker Bret Michaels.

“Billy Ray suspects there’s been something going on between his wife and Bret for a long time,” an insider tells Star. Adds another source, Tish — whose production company plans to turn Bret’s upcoming autobiography, Roses & Thorns, into a movie — “fits the profile of women Bret usually goes for: skinny, big boobs and blonde hair.”

Tish pulled out all the stops with Bret. A source says she “would always show up to the studio in tight jeans and revealing T-shirts and flirt shamelessly with Bret.”

Billy Ray was “ashamed of Tish’s behavior and he wants out of this mess,” says the insider.

Miley should be feeling liberated as she readies to become of legal age, but instead she has to choose sides in her parents’ bitter tug-of-war over their reported $150 million estate.

“Billy Ray and Tish are already bickering over how to handle their most valuable asset — Miley,” a family sources says of the Disney star who has built an estimated billion dollar franchise out of her Hannah Montana success.

“This whole situation has hurt Miley’s relationship with her mother — she’s definitely going to side with her father,” an insider tells Star.

For the full story on the Cyrus divorce drama — including what Tish did to win Bret’s heart and why Billy Ray should have seen his split with Tish coming and — pick up the new Star on Wednesday.

[From Star Magazine]

Um… the Cyruses have a $150 million estate? How much of that is years of taking their “cut” from Miley’s earnings? Because I don’t buy that Billy Ray made that much from his music and acting career, nor from wise investments.

With Miley turning 18 years old in a few weeks, I have some advice for her, from An Old to A Young: get some professionals in control of your money, and watch what they do very carefully. Stop using Britney Spears as your guideline, and begin to examine how Madonna has managed her career and her estate. Don’t give anybody control over your estate. Stop giving your parents money, but maybe create education trusts from your siblings – Noah especially is going to need to go to college. And if your parents are going to make their trashy divorce proceedings about who has control over you or your estate, you better watch out and get your own lawyer, who answers only to you, who will only represent your interests.

Star cover courtesy of CoverAwards.

I shouldn’t laugh. But I am. Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus are such a trashy couple and they’re such strange parents, you’ve got to wonder how they made it work for 17 years. They just confirmed to People Magazine that they are filing for divorce. Oh, well. Through another Mullet into the fire, we’ve got a live one!

Miley Cyrus’s parents, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, are divorcing after 17 years of marriage, they tell PEOPLE.

“As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family,” they say in a statement. “We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers.”

The couple have five children, including the pop star. Divorce papers were filed Wednesday in Tennessee citing irreconcilable differences.

[From People]

Didn’t The Mullet have a history of screwing around of Tish? And isn’t Tish reliving her glory days as a groupie by encouraging the “famewhore gene” in her children, notably Miley and Noah? Also: I wouldn’t be surprised if Tish was cheating too. I always thought that Tish and Bret Michaels had something going on. I’m honestly hoping this one gets down and dirty. Poor Miley, though. And poor Noah. Noah really might end up the Ali Lohan of the Cyrus family now.

Last night was the big premiere of The Last Song, the weepy, wrought family drama/teen romance film starring Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. I have to give it to Miley, she actually looked really nice and sweet for the premiere. Even though that dress is mostly leather. But it’s a good cut! And she looks covered up and pretty, so I forgive the leather. Liam looked handsome too. They actually looked like…(gasp)… a very attractive young couple who “dressed up” in a classy way for a professional event. Well done!

Before I get to the other people at the premiere, I just wanted to share this new Miley Cyrus interview from The Telegraph. I’ve noted in the past few weeks that it seems like Miley is maturing in a really interesting, unpredictable way. Her interviews as of late have been remarkably candid, honest and interesting. However, she’s still the girl who owns dozens of pairs of booty shorts, talks like she’s mid gum-smack, and in the words of The Telegraph writer, “She talks quickly in a deep, husky voice and opinions, thoughts and ideas tumble from her, liberally interspersed with “likes” and “you knows.”” This piece had some good quotes (full piece here):

On the scandals that have surrounded her: “Every career thing I do can’t be perfect and sometimes my decisions are wrong,” she admitted frankly. “I always say the minute I stop making mistakes is the minute I stop learning and I’ve definitely learned a lot. When you’re a pop star or whatever you always have ‘people.’ You always hear, ‘my people will call your people’ but you can’t let your people talk for you all the time because you’re the only person who knows yourself and what you truly want.”

On Liam Hemsworth: “He’s a 6ft 4in tall Australian surfer and I’m 5ft 4in from Tennessee and I couldn’t surf if someone gave me ten million dollars so we couldn’t be more opposite,” she laughed. “But I went to Australia to visit him and his family and I was like, ‘Omigosh, this looks like Nashville.’ There were like cows everywhere. I am like, ‘how are you from the opposite side of the planet and your world looks just like mine?’ My dad’s just happy that I have something going on in my life with someone normal. No psychos, so that’s good.” She chuckles throatily.

On the end of Hannah Montana: “We’re halfway into the last season and it’s kind of bittersweet for me,” said Miley. “It’s like my security blanket, my comfort zone: I know that’s where I’m going to be from 8.30am to 6pm. I’ve always had the show to lean on, and to not have it to lean on in the future will be different for me, so who knows?”

On filming The Last Song: “It came up at a crazy time because I had a tour, I was working on the show and I thought it might be impossible to fit it in, but it all fell into place. It was perfect, because that’s what this movie’s about: things coming together so beautifully against all odds.”

On needing acting lessons: “I’ve not taken like acting lessons or anything but it doesn’t mean I don’t need to because I’m sure I do,” she said. “Once I watch this film in the theatre I’m probably going to go book an acting coach.”

On her career choices from here: “I’m kind of bipolar in my acting choices because I just want to do a little bit of everything,” she said. “One day I’m telling my mom, you know, I want to do an action movie and then I want to be doing comedy and then all different types of things. I get a little bored so hopefully I’ll get a chance to do a little bit of everything.”

[From The Telegraph]

See? I’m finding it harder not to like her. While I’ve never really gathered an opinion of Miley as an actress beyond “annoying” or “meh,” I like that she’s coming out ahead of the potential criticism of her acting chops and being honest about maybe needing a coach. Of course, if she’s still pulling that line three years from now, it will start to be not so cute and not so refreshing. So I hope Miley sticks by it and actually begins to take her “craft” seriously.

Beyond Miley and Liam, there were lots of other interesting people at the premiere. There was Greg Kinnear and his shameface at being in a Miley movie, there was John Travolta and Kelly Preston (who is in the movie). Sidenote: Do you think Miley is being recruited for Xenu? I hope not. And of course, there were assorted members of the Cyrus family. Here’s Miley’s little sister Noah:

And The Mullet and Tish:

And Trace and Brandi Cyrus (ARRHHH!!!):

‘The Last Song’ LA premiere on March 25, 2010. Credit: WENN.

This story is from Star Magazine, so there’s a good chance it’s crap, of course. But I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s a little bit true, just because it’s funny. So, do you remember how Miley Cyrus actually went into the studio and recorded her version of Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”? Yeah. That happened. And it happened because Miley and Bret Michaels met and liked each other, and Bret was “honored” for Miley to cover the song or whatever. For shame! Anyway, it looks like there might be another Cyrus-Michaels collaboration happening, only this one involves Miley’s mom Tish Finley-Cyrus, and Bret Michaels’ wang. Oh, yes.

Miley’s mom Tish’s extremely close friendship with rocker Bret Michaels is raising eyebrows, just as the 42-year-old blonde’s marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus is reaching its breaking point.

“Billy Ray and Tish are spending more and more time apart,” says an insider. “They have a lot of major issues.”

The couple’s 16-year union has grown increasingly tense since the family relocated from Tennessee to Hollywood for Miley’s show Hannah Montana in 2005. Billy Ray “has become this creature of Hollywood… and Tish is always the one who’s left to pick up the pieces when there’s a crisis among the kids. There’s lots of pent-up frustration on her part, and it’s been coming out more and more lately.”

Meanwhile, the mom of five and Bret, who has two kids, hit it off in a big way when he and Miley recorded a cover of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” in December.

“Tish and Bret spend a lot of time in the studio together,” says Bret’s rep, who insists that two have a “strictly business” relationship. “They talk all the time.”

“Billy Ray and Tish are trying to work through their problems,” says a source. “But it looks like the marriage is in serious trouble.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, February 22 2010]

Um… if Miley and Bret just recorded that one song together, why is Tish still hanging out in the studio with Bret? That doesn’t make any sense, unless you put it in the context of “they’re probably bangin’”. Now, the question does need to be asked: would Tish ruin her marriage just to have a fling with Bret? And I think I can safely answer “Yes.” What do we know about Tish other than what her children are like? Yeah. Miley isn’t just a fluke. Look at Noah. Tish is exactly the kind of woman who would cheat on The Mullet with Bret Michaels.

The moms of teen queens Jamie Lynn Spears and Miley Cyrus had a heart-to-heart while enjoying some strong coffee. The two famous moms were seen talking at an outside table at a Century City Starbucks on February 27. What they were discussing is anyone’s guess, and Star Magazine is all too willing to speculate for us. They say that Miley Cyrus’ mom, Tish, must have been asking Lynn Spears how to weather controversy and keep her famous daughter out of trouble. Lynn Spears is not the person to give advice on how to raise a celebrity daughter. She has two, and the more sane one is pregnant at 16. From the way the conversation is described, it sounds like Lynne is the one asking for advice, and not the other way around as Star claims.

“They were sitting across from each other at an outdoor table early in the evening,” an eyewitness tells Star. Both were dressed casually, but there wasn’t anything casual about their conversation. “Lynne looked upset and was doing all the talking, while Tish listened intently, nodding her head in agreement. Lynne’s ex-husband, Jamie, was sitting at another table close by, talking with another guy, but they didn’t get involved with the women.

The reason for the Feb. 27 down-low get together…? A source tells Star: “The Spears and Cyrus families have become good friends, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they arranged that chat so that Lynne could share with Tish the lessons she learned as she’d tried to deal with and care for Britney and Jamie Lynn.”

The last year has obviously been tough on Jamie Lynn, 16, – and Miley hasn’t been immune to controversy either. A number of “naughty” personal photos of the 15-year-old have shown up on the Web… “Lynne’s advice certainly can’t hurt!”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, March 17, 2008]

Maybe Tish and Lynne were talking about the best place to get Restylane injections and Lynne was upset because the guy she uses screwed up her lips the last time. It really does sound like Lynne was upset about something, and she has a lot to be upset about. Things are improving for one of her daughters, but she’s not out of the woods yet. Her younger daughter is barely out of high school and is due to have a baby soon. By some accounts Lynne will be the primary caregiver for her latest grandchild. You would think that the woman needs good friends to confide in, given her situation.

Miley Cyrus and Tish Finley, 40, are shown on at “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour” film premiere on 1/17/08 and at the American Music Awards on 11/18/07, Thanks to PRPhotos.