Elizabeth & Billy Ray's Unexpected Romance 'They Have Nothing to Hide'

Opposites attract?! Us reveals the inside scoop on Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley's surprising hookup, from how they met to their unexpected common ground

- BY JAIME HARKIN

It was a hard launch for the ages: On April 20, British model Elizabeth Hurley and country music superstar Billy Ray Cyrus shared a joint post on Instagram that showed them cuddled up while leaning against a wooden fence. Hurley, wearing a plaid flannel shirt, jeans and a straw hat, flashed a huge smile as Cyrus, in a denim button-down, striped pants and green bunny ears, planted a big kiss on her cheek. "Happy Easter," they wrote alongside a heart emoji. Echoing the world's shock over the new coupling, actress Melissa Gilbert hilariously replied, "Wait... what?" A Cyrus source tells Us the pair "are enjoying life together and wanted to make it public. They have nothing to hide." Asked on April 24 whether the relationship was genuine, Cyrus said on Apple Music Country's The Ty Bentli Show, "She's a great human being. If all we ever were [was] the friends that we are... I would take that." He continued: "She's so impressively brilliant."

Few saw the romance coming, even after Hurley tagged Cyrus in an April 9 video of herself walking on the beach in the Maldives set to his 1992 song "She's Not Cryin' Anymore." According to a second source, the Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery star, 59, and the "Old Town Road" singer, 63who met on the 2022 holiday film Christmas in Paradise - have been dating for about four months. "Liz's friends have known about it for a while. It's not a new thing," shares a third source close to Hurley. "She had sworn them to secrecy, and they didn't tell anyone outside her tight circle." Adds the Cyrus source: "They've been friends for years, but it turned romantic recently. Things are going well."