Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley are engaged, multiple outlets reported this week, capping a romance between the country singer and the British actress that began quietly on a film set and went public on Easter Sunday last year.

Word of the engagement broke after Hurley posted a selfie on Instagram showing a large diamond ring on her finger, followed days later by Cyrus marking the occasion with a ring emoji of his own. Hurley’s son, Damian, responded to his mother’s post with a party-face emoji, fueling speculation that quickly hardened into confirmation. TMZ, citing Page Six, reported that Cyrus proposed and Hurley accepted, though neither outlet specified when or where the proposal took place. Representatives for both stars had not responded to requests for comment as of publication.

The pair met years earlier while filming the holiday movie “Christmas in Paradise,” but their romance did not become public until they were photographed together and went Instagram official around Easter 2025, placing their relationship at a little over a year old by the time of the engagement. Cyrus has described their connection as an unlikely one that deepened through humor during a difficult stretch of his life. “We did very few scenes together but the couple times we were in the same scene there was a chemistry there,” Cyrus said in an interview with Apple Music Country, recounting their first meeting. “We just laughed, and it was at a time I wasn’t laughing a lot.”

Cyrus has credited Hurley with reaching out to him during a particularly hard moment, before the two were linked romantically. “Of all the people to reach out to me in that second that maybe I needed most … this friend who made me laugh,” he said. He has also spoken about valuing the friendship on its own terms, regardless of where the relationship ultimately went. “If all we ever were (is) the friends that we are, I would take that,” Cyrus said, adding of their bond: “If you can laugh together, you can make it through everything.”

An engagement would mark the fourth marriage for Cyrus, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer and father of Miley Cyrus, following previous marriages including a long union with Tish Cyrus that ended in divorce. For Hurley, best known for her film work and years as the face of Estee Lauder, it would be a second marriage, after her earlier marriage to Arun Nayar ended in divorce. No wedding date has been announced, and neither star has publicly commented on the reported engagement beyond their social media posts.

For now, fans of both stars are left reading the tea leaves of Instagram emojis and ring photos, with an official statement from the couple still awaited. Given the public interest the relationship has drawn since it surfaced in 2025, confirmation directly from Cyrus or Hurley is unlikely to stay under wraps for long.

Sources: TMZ, Page Six, People