Miley Cyrus reflects on her ‘Hannah Montana’ casting journey
Miley Cyrus is thanking Disney for giving her the “chance” to star in Hannah Montana as the show celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new special.
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus welcomed his daughter Miley as a guest on Tuesday’s Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. It would be an unlikely reunion for fans, given the headlines about family feuds in recent years.
In an in-depth interview with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper about the series’ most epic moments, Miley Cyrus also talked about growing up alongside stars like Dylan Sprouse, Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez, but the reunion of one of Hollywood’s most famous father-daughter duos resonated.
Miley Cyrus said, “I’m really excited to have him here because I know how much our relationship means to everyone who watches this show.” “I think it makes people feel better when my dad and I get along. When the Cyrus family gets along, it just makes them feel better.”
From 2006 to 2011, the father-daughter pair gained attention when they starred in the hit Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana,” which catapulted Miley Cyrus to superstar status. However, the two had a rift after the show ended.
The family relationship was further complicated by Billy Ray’s divorce from Miley’s mother Tish Cyrus in April 2022 and subsequent marriage to Dominic Purcell in August 2023. That same year, rumors swirled that there was a rift between her sister Noah Cyrus and their mother Tish.
Miley’s brother, Trace Cyrus, expressed concern for Billy Ray’s well-being in an Instagram post on January 22, 2025, writing, “Sadly, the man I desperately wanted is now almost unrecognizable.”
For many fans who grew up on the show as children and are now adults, the ups and downs of the Cyrus family reflect a more universal experience of the emotional toll of family conflict and the complicated ways that rift can leave a lasting impact on mental health.
The burden of family drama on mental health
Families can break up for various reasons. A marriage that some members don’t approve of, an unresolved feud, and drug abuse that hurts people in its wake. Family drama, whatever the cause, can be hurtful for countless reasons.
“Research suggests that the same parts of the brain that process physical pain also process emotional pain,” psychotherapist Chelsea Cole previously told USA TODAY.
Therapist Gregorio Lozano III says that the pain of being abandoned by one’s family is fundamental, originating from humanity’s earliest ancestors. It can be stressful and upsetting, both for the person who has decided to cut off contact with a particular family member, and especially for the person on the receiving end of the action.
“When I experienced rejection from my tribe, it meant a life-or-death situation,” he says. “Those aspects are gone now, but the psychological trauma that can result from that is still there.”
For many people, family is a core part of their identity. When someone is disowned or estranged from their family, that person’s self-esteem and self-worth can be damaged.
“So much of our identity is tied to family: ‘Who are my parents? What kind of family do I come from? What do we believe?'” Cole says. “When there is discord, rift, and rift in families, it affects people to the core.”
What do Miley and Billy Ray say about the impact ‘Hannah Montana’ has had on their family?
Miley Cyrus has long credited her father for helping and watching her become a star as a teenager, and expressed gratitude that her family didn’t put any financial pressure on her.
Following the release of the 2024 documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the pitfalls of being a child star are once again in the spotlight. The documentary details the allegedly toxic and abusive environment in which some of Nickelodeon’s biggest child actors worked.
“My dad was on set every day,” Miley Cyrus told Variety in a cover story leading up to the Disney series special. “So nothing happened that he didn’t know about.”
However, it is certain that this program placed a heavy burden on the family.
In a 2011 interview with GQ, Billy Ray Cyrus said the show “destroyed” his family and wished it had never happened.
“I hate to say it, but I’m going to say it. Yes, I’m going to take it off right now. It would have been great if my family was here and everyone was safe and safe and sound and happy and normal. Yeah, I’d take it all off in one second if I could,” he told the magazine.
That unique reality is something Miley Cyrus touched on in a special.
Miley Cyrus told Alex Cooper, “I don’t know if our reality would have been the same, for better or worse, without the show.” “No family can really go through what we went through.”
How to recover from a broken family
Family drama is normal to a certain extent, but there may come a time when the problem becomes too complex to ignore. If you are suffering from the pain of family drama, therapists offer the following advice:
- seek therapy. Fractures in the family can lead to several mental health issues, which are best treated by a professional.
- feel how you feel. Lozano said acknowledging your emotions can be healthier than suppressing them. “What we do with those emotions is what matters.”
- Build an identity outside of the family. Finding passions, hobbies, community, and values outside of your family can help build self-esteem and self-efficacy, Cole says.
- Consider how family rifts affect other relationships. Psychiatrist Dr. Dion Metzger said it’s important to assess how the emotions caused by a broken family relationship are affecting other relationships. “When you have problems within your family and feel left out, it affects how you approach relationships, romantic relationships, and friendships,” she says.
- Find a healthy relationship: Cole emphasized the importance for people whose families have been disrupted to “find other healthy relationships where they feel seen, appreciated, supported and connected.”
Charles Trepany and Katie Camero contributed reporting.
Rachel Hale’s role covering youth mental health for USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Contact her at rhale@usatoday.com. @rachleighhale With X.
