Washington DC

Singer, songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus has revealed that he nearly lost his life during a severe health crisis in 2024, saying he "almost died" after developing sepsis and later experienced vocal paralysis while recovering.

In an interview with People magazine, the 64-year-old artist reflected on the frightening ordeal that left him fighting for survival.

"I got really sick and almost died," Billy Ray said.

The singer recalled being repeatedly discharged from hospital despite suffering from a dangerous infection that doctors initially struggled to diagnose.

"As I was trying to stay alive at times, they sent me home from the hospital, and I'd be there with Tommy Jack," he said, referring to his rescue dog. "But my body was blowing up [with] a toxicity of some type."

"If it had erupted, I would have died," he added.

During the difficult period, Billy Ray said he turned to prayer, often visiting what he described as his "prayer rock" and pleading for divine intervention.

"I had a prayer answered," he said, recalling how he repeatedly prayed, "Please. I need a miracle. I need a miracle."

According to the singer, doctors had planned one final surgery before his condition unexpectedly improved.

"Lo and behold, they were going to do one last surgery. I got to the hospital [and] they said, 'Mr. Cyrus, it's gone. It's healed.' I had a miracle," he said.

The health crisis also affected his voice, leaving him temporarily unable to sing or speak.

"I started believing once I had the first miracle," Billy Ray said. "I said, 'Cyrus, you can't talk or sing right now, but believe you can.'"

He credited his daughter, Noah Cyrus, for helping him through his recovery. Billy Ray said Noah's 2025 song, "Don't Put It All On Me," written by his son Braison Cyrus, became a source of comfort.

"I just loved it so much," he said. "And I do credit that particular song [for] saving me."

The singer said he listened to the track constantly because it brought him "a little bit of peace."

Billy Ray also shared an emotional memory involving Braison's five-year-old son, Bear, whose unexpected words encouraged him to keep moving forward.

"In this very broken moment of my life, my little grandson Bear looked at me and said, 'Try again,'" he recalled.

"Up until that moment, he had never spoken to me at all. I wasn't even sure if he knew my name."

"I thought, 'He's telling you something.' Is it about love? Music? Somehow, I got to try again at both. So I'm learning to try again," he added.

Billy Ray is now preparing for the release of his upcoming album, The Hill, scheduled to arrive on June 16.

He shares daughters Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, and son Braison Cyrus, with former wife Tish Cyrus. The couple divorced in 2022 after nearly three decades of marriage.

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Following their separation, Billy Ray married Firerose in 2023 before the relationship ended in 2024. He is currently in a relationship with Elizabeth Hurley, while Tish Cyrus married Dominic Purcell in 2023.