For decades after their split, Elizabeth Hurley stayed “best friends” with her ex Hugh Grant, while her ex-husband Arun Nayar has been by her side for milestones such as New Year’s Eve and her son Damian’s graduation.
Not everyone agrees with staying friends with the ex, though, and Liz’s rumoured fiance Billy Ray Cyrus has supposedly thrown their wedding plans into disarray as he puts his foot down over her lasting male friendships!
“He’s an old-school guy and gets very territorial, and now that talk of marriage has come up between him and Liz, rumour is he’s even more fixated on this,” an insider tells Woman’s Day.
“He wants to feel like he’s the number one man in her life, not just another name on the list. It’s causing serious tension.”
FAILED ROMANCES
On the flip side to friendly ex Liz, Billy, 63, has a history of his marriages ending in an acrimonious fashion. His second wife Tish Cyrus filed for divorce several times during their 30-year marriage and said it was “disrespect in every form”, from both sides, which led to them officially parting ways in 2023.
Meanwhile, his seven-month marriage to Australian singer Firerose ended in controversy when he requested an annulment based on fraud, which she denied, and she responded with claims of emotional abuse, which Billy denied.
“Billy Ray doesn’t get it and he doesn’t like it,” the insider says of the situation. “He’s not friends with any of his exes and doesn’t see why Liz is.”
While she’s admitted they don’t get to see each other all that often anymore, the 60-year-old model’s connection with Hugh, 64, is still there, much to Billy’s apparent disapproval.
“Billy’s not saying she needs to be enemies or never speak again but it really bothers him that she and Hugh are text buddies. She goes to him for advice and that sticks in Billy Ray’s craw because he thinks he ought to be the only man she confides in,” the source says.
“But Liz doesn’t like being told what to do, she wants to be allowed to have whatever friends she wants, so this has got her back up big time.”
Liz staying in touch with her past romantic partners isn’t the only thing causing tension with Billy as they make plans to head down the aisle. There’s also the issue of their distinctly separate worlds colliding for the big day, and the headache it’s causing over who to put on the wedding guest list.
WORLDS COLLIDE
While the model’s longtime, loyal set of London friends includes showbiz pals like Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Billy Ray comes from the culturally opposite American south.
A second source tells Woman’s Day, “Their circles of friends couldn’t be more different and it’s not just Billy’s hillbilly friends who are going to struggle with some of Liz’s extremely flamboyant ‘gay husbands’.
“Billy’s also friends with President Trump and while Liz doesn’t really care either way, some of her friends do.”
Yet, despite how their romance looks on the surface, the British actress insists she and the Achy Breaky Heart singer actually have a lot in common.
“I think people found Billy and I being together a little surprising,” Liz admits of their debut as a couple in April this year. “We’re actually quite similar and get on extremely well.”
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