Billy Ray Cyrus lost one of his closest friends on his 65th birthday, and the tribute he shared in the hours after Dolly Parton's death captured something essential about who she was, both as a public figure and as a friend.
Parton died on August 25, 2026, aged 80, following a private battle with cancer. Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced her passing in a video she had asked him to record years in advance. The news prompted an immediate and worldwide outpouring of grief from fans and fellow artists, with Cyrus among the first to share his memories publicly.
The two had known each other since the early 1990s, when Cyrus was riding the enormous success of Achy Breaky Heart and Parton had him join her on tour as her support act. It was during this period that a close friendship formed, one that would endure for more than three decades and extend to Cyrus's entire family.
In his tribute, posted alongside a series of photographs of the two of them together, Cyrus wrote about growing up watching Parton on television and described the particular feeling of realising that the icon he had admired as a child had become one of his closest friends in adult life.
He recalled that when his daughter Miley was born in 1992, he asked Parton to be her godmother. She accepted without hesitation, and the bond between Parton and Miley Cyrus became one of the most celebrated and genuine relationships in American music. Parton later described Miley as "just like one of my own."
Cyrus also shared a personal detail about his friendship with Dolly that has resonated widely since his tribute was posted. He revealed that Parton had recently sent him a message telling him she loved him with her whole heart, and that he would always love her in the same way in return.
"I will always love her in the same way," he wrote. "With my whole heart. And I always will."
The news of her death arrived on Cyrus's birthday, a coincidence he did not address directly in his tribute but which has been noted widely by those sharing it.
Miley Cyrus also broke her silence with a tribute of her own, describing the loss as "beyond what feels right to share" and saying that their most sacred moments would remain private, kept between them. She revealed that one of their final conversations had been about music and metamorphosis, and said she intends to honour her godmother by continuing to create.
"I have an angel by my side," she wrote. "I always have."
As for the tabloid rumours from 1992, which had alleged that Cyrus and Parton were having an affair while on tour together: Cyrus recalled going to her dressing room to apologise for the stories, genuinely embarrassed by their existence. Parton's response was immediate, characteristically sharp and entirely unbothered.
"In true Dolly fashion," Cyrus wrote, "she just looked at me, winked and said, 'Honey, this trash sells records.'"
