The world collectively gasped when that photo of Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus hard-launched the couple on Instagram on Easter Sunday — but now the actress and model has spoken out about what drew the unlikely pair together.
Speaking to multiple different news outlets on Tuesday, May 13, while hosting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party in New York City in a show-stopping pink ruffled dress, the 59-year-old couldn’t stop gushing about her new man.
“I think people found Billy and I being together a little surprising,” she told Page Six. “It’s not surprising to me because we’re actually quite similar and get on extremely well. There has been quite a reaction.”
Hurley went on to explain that the pair actually have more in common than it first appears. “We both like to laugh a lot, and we both love the country,” she said. “And we both love country music, both love movies. We’ve got a lot in common — and cowboy boots, definitely.”
How Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley Connected on an Emotional Level
And in a brief interview with the Daily Mail, she said, “Billy’s a lovely man and we make each other very happy.”
Hurley also told RTL TV that being parents was something that bonded them, too. She is mom to model son Damian, 23 — her date for Tuesday night’s event — while country star Cyrus has six children: Christopher, Miley, Noah, Braison, Brandi and Trace. “We both love our kids,” said Hurley. “We’re happy together.”
She also revealed that Cyrus will be visiting her in her native England soon.
The couple went public with their relationship on Easter Sunday, April 20, when they, seemingly from nowhere, shared a romantic photo on Instagram, with Cyrus wearing bunny ears. A week later, on April 27, Hurley shared another shot of the couple embracing by a tree in Tennessee.
The loved-up duo first met while shooting Father Christmas Is Back in 2021, with Cyrus admitting on The Ty Bentli Show on April 24 that “there was a chemistry there.” He added: “We just laughed, and it was at a time I wasn’t laughing a lot.”
The singer went on to explain that the pair didn’t keep in touch — until Hurley reached out to him in 2024 with a kind text referring to his messy split with ex-wife Firerose, saying “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.” At the time, Cyrus didn’t even know who the message was from but, once the mystery was solved, the pair reconnected, and began dating early in 2025.
A source close to Cyrus exclusively told Us Weekly, “Billy Ray and Liz have both been through a lot in life and have bonded over life experiences. Liz is a very compassionate person, which Billy Ray adores.”
