Elizabeth Hurley Flashed a Massive Diamond and Billy Ray Cyrus Answered With a Ring Emoji, and Now Everyone Is Convinced They Are Engaged
Elizabeth Hurley Flashed a Massive Diamond and Billy Ray Cyrus Answered With a Ring Emoji, and Now Everyone Is Convinced They Are Engaged
Some couples announce their engagement with a joint statement and a magazine cover. Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus just did it the modern way, with a mirror selfie, a ring emoji, and a diamond so big you could probably spot it from the cheap seats.
On Friday, October 16, sources confirmed to Page Six that the 65-year-old country singer had popped the question to the 61-year-old English actress after more than a year of dating. Neither of them has officially said the words yet, but the trail of clues they left behind this week tells a story that is hard to argue with.
The week the rumors turned into news
The engagement chatter started Monday, when Hurley shared photos on Instagram wearing a massive diamond on her left ring finger. One source was quick to pour cold water on the idea that it was just a costume piece, telling Page Six that she is currently filming “The ‘Burbs” and, quote, “I hardly think this ring is a prop.”
Then Cyrus added fuel of his own. On Thursday he posted on Instagram promoting his new single “Party’s in the Back” with Deltona and a NASCAR show in Phoenix, signing off with the line “Kinda has a ring to it,” followed by a ring emoji. Hurley’s son Damian, 24, liked the post and dropped a celebratory emoji of his own, which fans took as family approval in the most 2026 way possible.
The following day, Page Six reported that sources had confirmed the engagement. JustJared and other outlets quickly picked up the story, all pointing back to the same confirmation. The exact moment Cyrus popped the question is still unknown, and a representative for him could not be reached for comment.
An unlikely romance that started on a movie set
If you had predicted this pairing back in 2022, nobody would have believed you. Cyrus and Hurley first met that year while filming the holiday movie “Christmas in Paradise.” They did very few scenes together, but Cyrus later recalled in a 2025 interview that even those brief moments carried a spark. They just laughed, he said, and it was at a time when he was not laughing a lot.
They stayed friends for years. Then, in February 2025, they reconnected, and by Easter Sunday that year they went public with a loved-up kissing photo on Instagram. The internet did a double take. A month later they made their red carpet debut as a couple at an event in Italy, and from there the relationship only got more serious.
Hurley herself has never pretended it was the most obvious match. Speaking on the SheerLuxe podcast earlier this month, she laughed that there are more similarities between them than anyone would guess, joking that they share identical hair and that apart from his beard they are practically twins. She called it an unlikely pairing in some ways, but admitted they live quite similar lives.
Why this one works: the country life
The secret to the relationship, it turns out, is not red carpets or Hollywood parties. It is mud, barns, and bonfires.
Speaking to Page Six back in May, Hurley explained that Cyrus’s farm in Tennessee is remarkably similar to her own farm in Gloucestershire, so being out in the countryside together feels completely normal to them. In June she told People magazine what their days together actually look like: she putters around the garden with power tools while he strums his guitar under a tree. They obsessively watch birds of prey and light a lot of bonfires. Her verdict on it all: “It’s bliss.”
Cyrus has said the same thing from his side. There was something in the opposites of them that got people’s attention, he told the magazine, but underneath the surface contrast they had far more in common than he ever expected. She reminded him of himself, in both the good parts and the harder ones.
Wedding number four for him, number two for her
Neither of them is new to marriage, which makes the news feel less like a whirlwind romance and more like two people who know exactly what they want.
For Cyrus, this will be a fourth walk down the aisle. He was first married to Cindy Smith from 1986 to 1991, then to Tish Cyrus from 1993 until their divorce was finalized in 2023, and later that same year he married singer Firerose. That union ended in 2024. He has six children, including global superstar Miley Cyrus, who has remained publicly silent on the engagement news so far.
For Hurley, it will be a second marriage. She was in a long-term relationship with Hugh Grant from 1987 to 2000, then married Indian businessman Arun Nayar in 2007, a marriage that ended in 2011. She was later engaged to Australian cricket legend Shane Warne from 2011 until their split in 2013. Her son Damian, whom she shares with the late producer Steve Bing, is her one child.
What comes next
No wedding date has been announced, and neither Cyrus nor Hurley has publicly confirmed the engagement with a statement of their own. But between the ring, the emoji, the son’s seal of approval, and sources confirming it to the press, this one looks like a done deal.
The couple has spent the past year proving that the most surprising pairings can be the most solid ones. From a chance meeting on a low-key Christmas movie set to countryside bonfires and now a massive diamond, their story keeps getting better. If the wedding is anything like the engagement rollout, expect it to be announced with one perfectly timed emoji.
Further reading: See how other surprise celebrity weddings went down this month, from Ben Barnes’ dreamy secret Oregon wedding to Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’ secret Arkansas ceremony, plus Dylan Dreyer’s big personal update.
