According to a statement from Billy Ray Cyrus discussing personal issues involving his marriage and relationship with daughter Miley, him and Kurt Cobain crossed paths a few times in their music career, and his sudden death took a major toll on Cyrus and his life.  Read more about their friendship after the jump.This month’s GQ features a profile on Billy Ray Cyrus, where he touches base on downfall of his marriage and his relationship with his daughter.  While many are led to believe that Hannah Montana perpetuated these events, Cyrus makes a statement, dispelling the rumors, which surprisingly comes down to a friend’s death and how it influenced his life afterwards — that friend being Cobain.

“I was supposed to go and do another world tour. I said no. I canceled my tour. Kurt Cobain had just died, and that really had an impact on me. He was one of those guys that became a friend to me that I never expected. We met at a venue one night, some big coliseum somewhere—his rig was pulling out and mine was pulling in—and I was standing in the shadows, 1 a.m. in the morning, and he’s ‘Hey man, congratulations—you pissed the whole world off.’ We shook hands, and I said, ‘Thanks, man… I love what you all do.’ After that, Cobain congratulated him at an awards ceremony when most of his peers did not. ‘We crossed paths a couple more times,’ says Cyrus.

Okay, so they weren’t actually bros and didn’t spend every waking moment together, but the two unlikely musicians certainly had a friendship, and affected each others’ lives positively.