Billy Ray Cyrus Shared Dolly Parton’s Final Message to Him—Then Miley Revealed What “Aunt Dolly” Told Her Near the End

Billy Ray Cyrus said one of Dolly Parton’s final messages to him contained only the kind of sentiment that had defined their friendship for decades: she loved him “with her whole heart.” The words landed differently after her death, not because they sounded like a formal goodbye, but because they felt so recognizably Dolly—warm, direct and without hesitation. Their bond had begun long before Miley Cyrus ever called her “Aunt Dolly,” stretching back to the early 1990s when tabloid rumors tried to turn a professional friendship into scandal. Billy Ray remembered entering Dolly’s dressing room in 1992 to apologize for stories claiming they were having an affair. She reportedly winked and brushed it aside with a joke about scandal selling records. More than three decades later, the friendship was still intact. And when Billy Ray looked back after her passing, it was that final expression of love that he said he would carry with him.

Miley’s relationship with Dolly was even more personal. Dolly became her godmother because of her friendship with Billy Ray, but over the years the title grew into something far deeper than a ceremonial connection. Miley grew up calling her “Aunt Dolly,” worked alongside her on “Hannah Montana,” performed duets with her and repeatedly described her as both an idol and a moral guide. Dolly never tried to control Miley’s career, even during the periods when the former child star attracted intense criticism for reinventing herself. Instead, she encouraged her to find her own voice, defended her publicly and reminded her that fame should never change the way she treated people. Miley has said Dolly taught her to acknowledge everyone, including the person at the bottom of a production call sheet, because success mattered less than how someone behaved once they had it. That lesson was rooted in Dolly’s own upbringing as one of twelve children in rural Tennessee, long before fame transformed her into one of the most recognizable women in entertainment.

After Dolly’s death, Miley said the most meaningful parts of their relationship would remain private. She described those memories as existing behind the stage and beneath the glamour, between the two of them rather than for public consumption. But she did reveal one detail from one of their final conversations: they had talked about music and metamorphosis. Miley now believes she knows exactly what Dolly would want her to do with grief—feel it fully, turn it into a song and continue moving forward. The symbolism was difficult to miss. Dolly had spent years encouraging Miley to change without losing herself, once comparing her to a young woman finding her wings. Now Miley was left with the task of doing exactly that without the person who had guided her through so many earlier transformations. Her tribute ended with the belief that Dolly would continue to appear in the beautiful things around them, but the message beneath it was even simpler: keep creating.