Photo: DFree / Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock / Facebook
It takes more than money to be a father.
By NyRee Ausler — Written on Nov 13, 2022
You’d have to have lived under a rock to be unfamiliar with the Cyrus family. But you may be surprised to learn about one of the lesser-known members of the famous family.
Fans are likely familiar with Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus' six kids — Trace and Brandi (who Billy Ray adopted after meeting their mom, Tish), Miley, Noah and Braison.
But one sibling that you may have never seen or heard of is Christopher Cody. Partly because he has a different last name than the rest of his siblings, Cody has managed to stay out of the spotlight over the years.
Who is Christopher Cody Cyrus?
Cody is Billy Ray's son and Miley's half-brother who was born from a brief fling shortly before Tish got pregnant with Miley.
Cody is only seven months older than Miley, which leads some to believe that there was some overlap between Billy Ray’s fling with Cody’s mother and his relationship with Tish Cyrus.
Christopher Cody / Facebook
Billy Ray was just getting over his 1991 divorce from his first wife, Cindy Cyrus, and apparently linked up with Cody’s mother for a few months.
Christopher Cody's mom, Kristen Luckey, met Billy Ray Cyrus while working as a waitress.
The oldest son of Billy Ray was born April 8, 1992. His mother, Kristen Luckey, had a short-lived romance with the country music star while she worked as a waitress in a South Carolina restaurant.
By the time Cody was born, Billy Ray had moved on and was expecting a baby with Miley’s mother Tish. Since then, Cody and his mother have stayed out of the media and lived a relatively modest life.
Christopher talked to the media about his relationship with Billy Ray Cyrus.
Back in 2009, he was quoted by the Mirror as saying, "I work at a store for $7.50 an hour. Sometimes I'll get five hours a week. I'll do 20. I take what I can get.”
That same article claimed that Cody would wait weeks for his father to call and check on him and that he had only seen his half-sister, Miley, five times in the last decade.
Still, Cody, had love and admiration for his sister. He recalled a time he had gone to her concert near his home in Fort Worth, Texas, saying, “Afterwards we spent 20 minutes in her bus. Her voice is fantastic and I’m very proud of my sister.”
Cody has expressed his disappointment regarding his and his father’s relationship in the past. He said, “It kind of sucks” when asked about the distance between himself and the rest of the Cyrus clan.
He even shared a string of text message between him and Billy Ray. He texted, “Merry Christmas” to his dad and didn’t hear back until ten days later when his father responded, “Hey bud, where you been? You disappeared on us.”
Though Cody and his sibling were born in the same year, they are worlds apart where lifestyle is concerned.
When Miley turned 16, she was gifted a recording studio, while Cody didn’t even get a phone call from his famous father.
Christopher Cody's mom says Billy Ray stopped reaching out shortly after his birth.
Kristin, Cody’s mom, is much more critical when it comes to her ex’s neglect of their son. “Chris reaches out to have a relationship, but it’s been months since they engaged. Chris is a great kid, and he handles it very, very well.”
She also shared some torrid details about the way she found out that Billy Ray had gone on to impregnate Tish while she was pregnant.
“He went on TV and announced that he had a beautiful baby boy and another baby on the way. And that’s how I found out about Tish being pregnant with Miley. My jaw just dropped.”
She told the Mirror “There was a lot of anger in me, but we kept talking. Then Billy Ray went on TV and said he and Tish were getting married and she was pregnant again.”
According to Kristin, that’s when she and Billy Ray stopped communicating with one another and he failed to create and father/son bond with Cody.
The mother and son admitted that Billy Ray has always supported his son financially. Yet Cody still longs for a meaningful connection with his father.
He clarified the status of the relationship declaring, “I’m on good terms but I don’t have a relationship with them really.”
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.