Billy Ray Cyrus has written plenty of love songs in his life, but now he’s teaching one.

The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer has gone public with his romance with actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, and the pair have been spending the summer writing a new kind of duet together. Instead of Nashville studios or red-carpet premieres, it’s guitar lessons on quiet English afternoons, new pets in the garden, and the kind of laughter that feels like medicine. Hurley admitted in an interview that Cyrus is teaching her to play guitar, though she says she’s “appalling” so far. Still, she’s giving it a go, and under the guidance of a man with Grammys and CMA trophies to his name, she’s bound to strike the right chords eventually.

Their story already sounds like a country song. They met in 2022 while filming Christmas in Paradise. At the time, Cyrus was weathering the storm of his divorce after nearly three decades of marriage, and he later admitted that Hurley’s friendship during those dark days felt like a lifeline. “We just laughed, and it was at a time I wasn’t laughing a lot,” he said. That laughter turned into late-night texts, and those texts turned into something real. By Easter of this year, the couple went public with a kiss on Instagram, writing simply, “Happy Easter .”

Now, they’ve taken things a step further, adding a couple of new tortoises to the family. Hurley even joked that she’s become a bird watcher, recently spotting rare goshawks in the UK. “I have a really interesting life. Wild. Parties every night,” she laughed, proving that the glamor queen is just as happy watching the sky with Billy Ray as she is on a movie set.

This summer marked a milestone for Hurley, who turned 60 in June. She spent the day surrounded by family and friends, with her son Damian baking her a cake and the group spending the night laughing and being silly. She described it as the perfect kind of celebration, stripped of Hollywood glitz but rich in love. And now with Cyrus by her side, she admits she’s making more of an effort to balance work with time at home, something she has struggled with throughout her career.

Cyrus has seen his share of highs and lows, but this chapter feels different. He’s introduced Hurley to his daughters, Miley and Noah, in London, and by all accounts, the family has embraced the new romance. For a man who once said he felt like life had knocked him flat on his back, this new love feels like a second wind. Hurley says what she loves most is how supportive he is, and in her words, “That feels nice.”

It’s the kind of unexpected love story that makes sense only when you hear it told. A Kentucky country boy and a British actress might sound worlds apart, but they’ve found common ground in guitars, animals, family, and laughter. Sometimes the best love stories aren’t the flashy ones. They’re the quiet kind, with slow strums on a six-string, a couple of tortoises wandering around the yard, and two people finally catching their breath together.

Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley are not just dating. They’re building a life that feels like a song still being written, and so far, the melody is sounding pretty damn sweet.