Tish Cyrus Pushed Billy Ray to Star in 'Hannah Montana' For Sake of Family

Tish Cyrus says she encouraged her ex, Billy Ray Cyrus, to star in "Hannah Montana" 'cause she thought it would bring them together -- a hope we now know didn't pan out in the long run.

The 56-year-old reflected on how the Disney Channel series impacted their family on a new "Call Her Daddy" episode, saying she saw the show as a double whammy ... a chance to move Billy's career forward -- it had hit a wall after his 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart" -- and a chance to make them a strong family unit.

Tish explained that a lightbulb went off in her head when 'Hannah' casting directors joked they "couldn't afford" Billy for the show during Miley's audition ... prompting her to jump in and tell them the idea wasn't too far-fetched.

She then turned to Billy, urging him to audition, and while she knew it would be a pay cut for him, it meant their family would be together again.

At that time, the whole Cyrus family, including their 5 children, had been living in Toronto, where Billy was filming another show -- and Tish was stressing over the thought of constantly traveling back and forth between Canada and L.A. for Miley's new starring role -- so getting Billy on the series was a golden opportunity.

Tish's reflection on "Hannah Montana" clearly appears to be more on the "what could have been" scale, but Billy Ray remembers it much differently ... telling GQ in 2011, the show "destroyed my family."