Tish Cyrus is opening up about the long and emotional journey she took trying to heal after her divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus, revealing that it took her years to truly process everything she went through.
Nearly four years after the former couple filed for divorce in 2022, Tish reflected on that time during a Jan. 14 appearance on Compression podcast, describing how survival mode became his default response.
For years, Tish said she pushed forward without stopping to fully confront the pain.
“Everything that happens, I’m like, ‘Well, that’s life, keep moving forward,'” she shared, explaining that she had been in a relationship since her early 20s and hadn’t taken the time to open up about how she felt.
This approach became even more difficult after the loss of his mother, Loretta Jean Palmer Finley, just two years before the marriage ended.
Tish admitted that she was extremely close to her mother and barely had time to grieve before her personal life began to deteriorate.
“Two of the most tragic things that happened in my life: I didn’t think about it or even take the time to think about it,” she said.
During this time, Tish admitted to being heavily dependent on marijuana, calling herself a “heavy weed smoker.”
She explained that it helped her manage her anxiety and acted almost like medicine, although she did not fully recognize that she was self-medicating.
“I didn’t even realize I was doing it for that reason,” she admitted.
That changed in 2024, when she stopped using cannabis and was suddenly overcome by emotions she had repressed for years.
“I think it kind of numbed all that pain, and then I quit smoking and all of a sudden, a week later, I’m completely anxious to the point where I can’t function,” Tish recalls.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.”
Now, more than a year later, Tish says she’s finally learning to manage her anxiety and feels stronger on the other side.
“I’m so much better,” she emphasized.
“I wasn’t functional that year, I was just trying to survive. Now I’m completely on the other side.” As she put it simply: “I’m learning to control it.” »
