Cowboy Hats & Couture: Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley’s Shock CMA Romance

Max Sterling, 11/20/2025 Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley’s CMA Awards debut was peak country-glam chaos—cowboy boots met couture, and tongues wagged everywhere. Call it Nashville’s wildest meet-cute or a meme in the making, but one thing’s certain: the red carpet’s never seen heartbreak and sequins sizzle quite like this.

Billy Ray, true to his own brand of haunted balladeer-meets-road-worn philosopher, opted for sleek black. Cowboy hat firmly in place, suit perfectly tailored—just dour enough to whisper he’s been on both sides of the heartbreak highway. Next to him, Hurley—draped in a scarlet dress so vivid it could’ve outshone the pyrotechnics—looked every bit the seasoned romantic lead. Her shoes defied gravity and perhaps reason, but no one present would contest her right to tower, even if it meant standing a head above the crowd and a mile above expectations.

Flashbulbs went off, briefly erasing any doubt about their headline-making potential. Yet it wasn’t just about the gear or the glam; there was a spark—one rarely manufactured for the cameras. Somehow, Hurley managed to look at home among the honky-tonk faithful, her palm settled into Billy Ray’s like they’d been plotting this entrance for decades instead of years.

Turn back to 2022 for a second: the two found themselves thrown together on the set of “Christmas in Paradise,” that streaming flick more notable for its cast than its screenplay. To hear Billy Ray tell it, very few shared scenes, but plenty of laughs. He admits, “At a time I wasn’t laughing much… we just laughed.” An unlikely recipe for chemistry, sure, but sometimes that’s the secret ingredient. Billy Ray remarked on their differences but, as it turned out, their overlap was the real surprise—a two-person Venn diagram where country kitchens, sharp humor, and a taste for the absurd intersected.

Of course, plotlines rarely unfold with Hollywood efficiency. Life did its usual work—new relationships, tabloid whirlwinds, years where contact faded to static. Only when Hurley sent a check-in text, disarmingly gentle for a woman whose public persona often exudes invincible cool, did something start to shift. She wrote, “Hey, it looks like life might be a little bit tough and just wanted you to know you’ve got a friend in your corner.” Not a scriptwriter in sight—just one human reaching out to another.

For Billy Ray, fresh from a marriage’s last act and the kind of soul-scraping introspection best scored by a lonesome pedal steel, Hurley’s message arrived like unexpected sunlight. He later admitted, “You can’t get knocked down any flatter than laying on your back… and in this moment, a friend reached out.” If that isn’t a lyric waiting to be written, nothing is.

What followed was pure 2020s: a soft-launch relationship, Instagrammed to the world by way of bunny ears and a farmyard smooch. Hurley captioned the moment “Happy Easter,” noticeably understated for something that set both UK and Tennessee abuzz. Gossipers and fans alike started crafting their own narratives, but Hurley seemed quietly amused by it all. She maintained, “We’re actually quite similar and get on extremely well… We both like to laugh a lot, and we both love the country. And we both love country music, both love movies. Got a lot in common—and cowboy boots, definitely.”

Inevitably, the rumor mill fired up. Some called it a “slap in the face” to Tish, Billy Ray’s previous wife. Others saw Hurley’s turn toward all things cowboy as a mere phase, a whimsical notch in her ever-growing bracelet of reinvention. Still, amid tabloid noise—claims of rebounds, confused friends holding court in anonymous quotes—the couple remained, if not unfazed, then unguarded. They carried on, focusing on the basics: laughter, new skills, good company (canine and otherwise).

In a twist few screenwriters would dare, Hurley’s summer revolved around rural England—her learning the basics of guitar while Billy Ray presumably tried not to cringe at every sour chord. “Billy is teaching me to play the guitar; right now I’m appalling but I’m hoping to improve!” she confessed, rattling off a list of small joys: “my friends, family, Billy Ray, my dogs, my parrot and my new tortoise James.” For once, Instagram chronicled something that looked nearly, miraculously, ordinary.

Naturally, the Country Music Association spotted opportunity in the romance. The pair was tapped to present Single of the Year—seemingly a safe gambit, though with enough wild-card energy to keep the Twitterverse guessing. When they took the stage, casting looks that would embarrass most screenwriters, Nashville briefly forgot every other story on its playlist. For a moment, it was their city.

By now, the question lingers—are Billy Ray and Liz rewriting the rules for second (or third, or fourth) acts in the public eye? Or has their romance slipped straight into meme territory, one cowboy hat away from parody? Time will tell. Maybe Hurley conquers “Jolene” by summer’s end; maybe she finds herself drawn back to the call of drama and dogs over the six-string.

For the time being, the duo drifts somewhere between novelty and new normal—Hollywood meets Honky Tonk, glitz and grit in equal measure. Debate if you must, but one can’t deny these rare moments, when the unexpected strolls down a red carpet and feels, even fleetingly, like a miracle cued up in a minor key.

And that’s the real magic. The heart, much like country music itself, always leaves a little room for the improbable. Occasionally, it’s worth risking a side-eye for the chance to see something truly outlandish play out live—especially when sequins and heartbreak are this well paired.

It’s hard to say if anyone had “Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley lighting up the 2025 CMA Awards red carpet” on their country music bingo card. Sometimes, Nashville gets a curveball, and this particular spectacle—a mix of Southern glitz and London sass—sent even the old-timers pausing mid-bourbon.Billy Ray, true to his own brand of haunted balladeer-meets-road-worn philosopher, opted for sleek black. Cowboy hat firmly in place, suit perfectly tailored—just dour enough to whisper he’s been on both sides of the heartbreak highway. Next to him, Hurley—draped in a scarlet dress so vivid it could’ve outshone the pyrotechnics—looked every bit the seasoned romantic lead. Her shoes defied gravity and perhaps reason, but no one present would contest her right to tower, even if it meant standing a head above the crowd and a mile above expectations.Flashbulbs went off, briefly erasing any doubt about their headline-making potential. Yet it wasn’t just about the gear or the glam; there was a spark—one rarely manufactured for the cameras. Somehow, Hurley managed to look at home among the honky-tonk faithful, her palm settled into Billy Ray’s like they’d been plotting this entrance for decades instead of years.Turn back to 2022 for a second: the two found themselves thrown together on the set of “Christmas in Paradise,” that streaming flick more notable for its cast than its screenplay. To hear Billy Ray tell it, very few shared scenes, but plenty of laughs. He admits, “At a time I wasn’t laughing much… we just laughed.” An unlikely recipe for chemistry, sure, but sometimes that’s the secret ingredient. Billy Ray remarked on their differences but, as it turned out, their overlap was the real surprise—a two-person Venn diagram where country kitchens, sharp humor, and a taste for the absurd intersected.Of course, plotlines rarely unfold with Hollywood efficiency. Life did its usual work—new relationships, tabloid whirlwinds, years where contact faded to static. Only when Hurley sent a check-in text, disarmingly gentle for a woman whose public persona often exudes invincible cool, did something start to shift. She wrote, “Hey, it looks like life might be a little bit tough and just wanted you to know you’ve got a friend in your corner.” Not a scriptwriter in sight—just one human reaching out to another.For Billy Ray, fresh from a marriage’s last act and the kind of soul-scraping introspection best scored by a lonesome pedal steel, Hurley’s message arrived like unexpected sunlight. He later admitted, “You can’t get knocked down any flatter than laying on your back… and in this moment, a friend reached out.” If that isn’t a lyric waiting to be written, nothing is.What followed was pure 2020s: a soft-launch relationship, Instagrammed to the world by way of bunny ears and a farmyard smooch. Hurley captioned the moment “Happy Easter,” noticeably understated for something that set both UK and Tennessee abuzz. Gossipers and fans alike started crafting their own narratives, but Hurley seemed quietly amused by it all. She maintained, “We’re actually quite similar and get on extremely well… We both like to laugh a lot, and we both love the country. And we both love country music, both love movies. Got a lot in common—and cowboy boots, definitely.”Inevitably, the rumor mill fired up. Some called it a “slap in the face” to Tish, Billy Ray’s previous wife. Others saw Hurley’s turn toward all things cowboy as a mere phase, a whimsical notch in her ever-growing bracelet of reinvention. Still, amid tabloid noise—claims of rebounds, confused friends holding court in anonymous quotes—the couple remained, if not unfazed, then unguarded. They carried on, focusing on the basics: laughter, new skills, good company (canine and otherwise).In a twist few screenwriters would dare, Hurley’s summer revolved around rural England—her learning the basics of guitar while Billy Ray presumably tried not to cringe at every sour chord. “Billy is teaching me to play the guitar; right now I’m appalling but I’m hoping to improve!” she confessed, rattling off a list of small joys: “my friends, family, Billy Ray, my dogs, my parrot and my new tortoise James.” For once, Instagram chronicled something that looked nearly, miraculously, ordinary.Naturally, the Country Music Association spotted opportunity in the romance. The pair was tapped to present Single of the Year—seemingly a safe gambit, though with enough wild-card energy to keep the Twitterverse guessing. When they took the stage, casting looks that would embarrass most screenwriters, Nashville briefly forgot every other story on its playlist. For a moment, it was their city.By now, the question lingers—are Billy Ray and Liz rewriting the rules for second (or third, or fourth) acts in the public eye? Or has their romance slipped straight into meme territory, one cowboy hat away from parody? Time will tell. Maybe Hurley conquers “Jolene” by summer’s end; maybe she finds herself drawn back to the call of drama and dogs over the six-string.For the time being, the duo drifts somewhere between novelty and new normal—Hollywood meets Honky Tonk, glitz and grit in equal measure. Debate if you must, but one can’t deny these rare moments, when the unexpected strolls down a red carpet and feels, even fleetingly, like a miracle cued up in a minor key.And that’s the real magic. The heart, much like country music itself, always leaves a little room for the improbable. Occasionally, it’s worth risking a side-eye for the chance to see something truly outlandish play out live—especially when sequins and heartbreak are this well paired.