Everything We Know About Dolly Parton And Billy Ray Cyrus’ Relationship

Billy Ray Cyrus and Dolly Parton are both influential country music stars but you may not know just how close they really are.

Dolly Parton has made a huge impact on the country music scene for decades now. She’s released dozens upon dozens of albums over the years, paving the way for a successful career for herself, but also for country music artists everywhere. Dolly has helped launch the careers of many artists, and influenced many others, especially Billy Ray Cyrus.

We know Billy Ray Cyrus as the father of none other than Miley Cyrus, but he’s also so much more than that. Billy Ray is famous in his own right, as he’s a successful country star too. He’s released over a dozen albums since the early 1990s, and is most known for his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Over the years, the two musicians have developed quite a close relationship, so much so that dating rumors ensued. When those rumors were crushed, people started to think that they might actually be blood-related, as they’re so involved in each other’s lives — Dolly is even Miley’s godmother! The two are so close, we can’t help but love them.

Here’s everything we know about Dolly Parton and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Dolly Parton and Billy Ray Cyrus have such a close relationship that people can’t help but think that the two are related. Contrary to popular belief, the two aren’t blood-related at all. They’ve just been friends for years, and are so close that they’ve become family, regardless of the lack of blood relation.

12 They Toured Together

Their relationship really began as a working relationship before anything else. After Billy Ray released his single “Achy Breaky Heart,” the song did really well. With all of the success of the song, he had the opportunity to go on tour together, where Billy Ray opened up for Dolly.

11 There Were A Lot Of Romance Rumors

Of course, in Hollywood, when two celebrities get close, rumors start to swirl as to whether or not they’re more than friends. Once the two got closer, romance rumors between Billy Ray and Dolly started to heat up. The two made headlines, especially when they were touring with one another.

10 Dolly Wasn’t Bothered By Them

When the rumors started to really take off about Billy Ray and Dolly being romantically linked, Billy Ray started to really worry about them and wondered what Dolly would think about the situation.

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Dolly, on the other hand, thought that the rumors were funny, and claimed that rumors like those sold records, and not to worry.

9 They Released A Single Together

Feeding into that rumor, Dolly and Billy Ray decided to make some music together. In 1993, Dolly released a single that featured Billy Ray called “Romeo.” With the romantically suggestive title, there’s no wonder why people were talking. The single did really well and rose up the music charts.

8 Billy Ray’s Debut Did Well Thanks To Dolly

With all of the talk between the two, and the fact that Billy Ray had the opportunity to go out on tour with Dolly, all press was good press in this case. When Billy Ray released his debut album, Some Gave It All in 1992, the album went number one and stayed number one for 17 weeks in a row. He can definitely thank Dolly for that!

7 She Wrote Him A Letter That Led Them To Be Friends

When Billy Ray first started off opening up for Dolly on tour, the two weren’t really as close yet.

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Billy Ray explained that Dolly had sent a letter to his dressing room to sort of break the ice between the two, and from then on they closely bonded and their relationship became closer than ever.

6 They Co-Wrote A Song

By having such a close relationship both working and non-working, Dolly and Billy Ray always jumped at the chance to be able to work together. As a result, Dolly and Billy ray decided to team up yet again, where the two co-wrote the duet called “The Right Time.”

5 Billy Ray Learned A Lot From Her Work Ethic

One thing that Billy Ray Cyrus has admitted to really admiring about Dolly is her work ethic — it’s something that he’s noticed about her since they first met. When they worked together, Dolly went to his studio, brought him some food, ate a little, and hung around before the two got straight to work.

4 Billy Ray Joined Dolly For The 25th Anniversary Of Dollywood

Dolly has her very own theme park named after her called Dollywood. When the park celebrated its 25th anniversary with a huge concert with some of Dolly’s famous friends.

Related: Miley Cyrus Performs ‘Old Town Road’ With Dad Billy Ray Cyrus And Boyfriend Cody Simpson

Both Billy Ray and Miley attended, and both performed with Dolly. Billy Ray and Dolly sang their hit collaboration “Romeo” where Miley joined Dolly for “Jolene.”

3 Dolly Is Miley’s Godmother

By now we know that Billy Ray and Dolly have such a close relationship, so much so that their families have slowly become intertwined. When Billy Ray had his daughter Miley, he decided that he wanted Dolly to be Miley’s Godmother. As a result, Miley and Dolly have their own very close relationship.

2 Dolly Appeared On Hannah Montana

As Miley got older and she landed her show Hannah Montana she combined her real life family with her fictional one. Dolly appeared on the show as Miley’s Aunt Dolly, where the two got into some hijinks on a few episodes. Dolly appeared on the episodes “Good Golly Miss Dolly” in 2006, “I Will Always Loathe You” in 2007 and “Kiss it all Goodbye” in 2010.

1 They’re So Close People Can’t Help But Think They’re Family

Over the years we’ve come to associate Dolly and Billy Ray together, and even more so when Billy Ray’s daughter Miley was born. We can’t help but love their relationship, and just how close they are to one another. There’s no reason why people think that they’re actually family, they might as well be!

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