Tish Cyrus Details Her ‘Complete Psychological Breakdown’ Before Divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus: ‘I Was Literally Terrified’ (Exclusive)

Tish Cyrus is in a happy place!

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE about the Sorry We're Stoned podcast she hosts with daughter Brandi Cyrus, the Nashville native, 56, reflected on her April 2022 divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus.

“I'm over 50, I'll be 57 this year. And when I literally was going through my divorce and trying to make that decision of stepping out of a 30-year marriage, I was terrified mostly,” she said while noting that women over a certain age can find love again. 

“And she really thought it was over,” Brandi, 36, said.

Tish agreed, adding, “No, I thought I was going to be alone forever. And that was one of the times that I had the crippling breakdown of anxiety. I joke about it and say I had a complete psychological breakdown. There were 30 days where I was not eating, sleeping, just felt like I was just coming out of my skin. And it was really scary.”

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She and Billy Ray, 62, tied the knot in 1993. They have three children together: Miley, Braison, and Noah. Billy Ray also adopted Tish's children from a previous relationship, Brandi and Trace.

Tish empathized with other women who may be in similar situations.

“I get why women are scared to leave, not only bad relationships, [but to] step into new careers and all these things. And I was literally terrified,” she said, adding that eventually it felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders. 

She continued, “I would love to just be this poster child for women our age and just be like, I promise you starting over sometimes is the best thing you can ever do. It's been great for me.”

Following her split from the “Achy Breaky Heart” hitmaker, Tish has since remarried to Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell.

“We are so happy,” she said of her current relationship. 

The pair went public with their relationship in November 2022, and announced their engagement the following April. 

Tish noted that with her previous relationship, “when you're married to someone for so long… it's all you really ever know.” 

However, now her heart is singing a new tune. 

“He just encourages me to fly,” she said of Purcell, 53.