Miley Cyrus is a lightning rod. She’s the girl who grew up on your TV screen, wearing a blonde wig and singing about the best of both worlds, only to burn that image down with a sledgehammer and a giant foam finger. But if you look past the "Bangerz" era tongue-wagging and the "Flowers" Grammy wins, the reality of dating Miley Cyrus is actually a study in public evolution. It’s messy. It’s loud. Honestly, it’s probably exhausting for the people involved because you aren't just dating a person; you’re dating a shifting cultural tectonic plate.
People love to speculate. They want to know if "Flowers" was a direct shot at Liam Hemsworth’s supposed infidelities or if her brief stint with Kaitlynn Carter was a genuine romance or a "rebound summer." To understand the mechanics of dating Miley Cyrus, you have to look at the patterns. She doesn’t do "casual" very well, even when she tries. From the decade-long saga with Hemsworth to her intense, rock-and-roll fueled partnership with Maxx Morando, Miley tends to dive into the deep end without a life vest.
The Liam Hemsworth Decade: A Lesson in Growing Apart
You can't talk about dating Miley Cyrus without talking about the Australian actor who occupied ten years of her life. They met on the set of The Last Song in 2009. She was 16. He was 19. That’s a volatile age to start a "forever" kind of love. What most people get wrong about this relationship is the idea that it was a simple "good girl gone bad" story where Liam was the stable one and Miley was the wild card.
The reality? They were two people trying to fit into a mold that didn't exist anymore.
During their 2012 engagement, Miley was already pivoting. She chopped her hair, bleached it, and started working with Mike WiLL Made-It. Liam was reportedly uncomfortable with the new image. They broke up in 2013, right around the time "Wrecking Ball" became a global phenomenon. But then, they came back together in 2016. They got married in late 2018 after their Malibu home burned down in the Woolsey Fire. Losing a home is traumatic. It bonds people in ways that aren't always healthy. Miley later told Howard Stern that the fire was the primary reason they actually went through with the wedding—they were clinging to the last "normal" thing they had left.
The marriage lasted less than a year.
The takeaway here isn't that Miley is "un-dateable." It’s that she refuses to stay static. If you are going to be with her, you have to be okay with her being a different person every eighteen months. Liam, by all public accounts, wanted a more traditional, quiet life in Byron Bay. Miley wanted to be a rockstar in Los Angeles. You can't bridge that gap with just history and a shared dog.
The Post-Divorce Pivot: Kaitlynn Carter and Cody Simpson
Right after the split from Liam, things got chaotic. The paparazzi caught Miley kissing Kaitlynn Carter in Italy. The internet lost its mind. People called it a PR stunt, but those close to Miley—and her own lyrics in "Slide Away"—suggested it was a desperate attempt to feel something other than grief.
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Then came Cody Simpson.
This was the "rehabilitation" era. Cody was a long-time friend. They made TikToks together. They did skin-care routines. It looked healthy, but it felt like a distraction. Dating Miley Cyrus during this period meant being part of her sobriety journey. She was very public about being sober during her time with Cody, a move sparked by vocal cord surgery and a desire to preserve her "instrument."
- She values creative synergy.
- She needs someone who handles the "paparazzi industrial complex" without complaining.
- She moves fast. Like, lightning fast.
Cody eventually faded out, and the narrative shifted again. This is where the public often misjudges her. They see the short-term relationships as "failures." In reality, they seem more like necessary chapters in her finding out what she actually requires from a partner: someone who isn't intimidated by her fame but also doesn't try to compete with it.
Enter Maxx Morando: The Rock-and-Roll Shift
If you want to know what dating Miley Cyrus looks like in 2026, look at Maxx Morando. He’s the drummer for the band Liily. He’s low-key. He doesn't do a lot of interviews. He isn't a "movie star" in the traditional sense, which is perhaps why this has been her most stable relationship since the divorce.
They were set up on a blind date. Yeah, even Miley Cyrus does blind dates.
Maxx and Miley share a specific aesthetic: vintage, edgy, and deeply musical. He co-produced tracks on her Endless Summer Vacation album, including "Handstand" and "Violet Chemistry." This is the secret sauce. For Miley, love and work are intertwined. She needs a collaborator. If you aren't helping her find a new sound or feeding her creative fire, the relationship probably isn't going to last.
She seems settled. Not "boring" settled, but "I don't have anything to prove to you" settled. She’s leaning into her powerhouse vocals—think "Used To Be Young"—and Maxx is content to stay in the background, keeping the beat.
The Logistics of a High-Stakes Romance
Let’s get practical. Dating someone of this caliber isn't just about dinners and movies. It’s a logistical nightmare.
First, there’s the security. You aren't going to a dive bar in Echo Park without a detail. Second, there’s the family. The Cyrus clan is... complicated. From Billy Ray’s public drama and his marriage to Firerose (which ended in a mess) to Tish Cyrus’s marriage to Dominic Purcell, there is a lot of noise. If you date Miley, you date the family circus. You have to navigate the rumored rift between the siblings and the public fallout of her parents' divorce.
Third, you have to deal with the "Dead Petz" energy. Miley is an animal person. Not a "one golden retriever" person. She’s a "pigs, horses, cats, and a pack of dogs" person. Her home is a sanctuary. If you’re allergic to pet hair or you don't like a house that feels like a farm, you’re out.
Why We Are Obsessed With Her Love Life
We project our own growth onto Miley. When she was with Liam, we saw the dream of high school sweethearts. When she was with Kaitlynn, we saw the "wild" exploration of identity. Now, with Maxx, we see the professional woman who wants a partner who "gets" her craft.
The "Flowers" phenomenon in 2023 changed the game. It became an anthem for self-sufficiency. Ironically, while the song is about not needing a man, it made her the most desirable "single" person in the world. It showed that she had processed her trauma. She wasn't bitter; she was empowered.
Actionable Insights for the "Miley Era" of Dating
Whether you are a fan or just observing the celebrity ecosystem, Miley’s trajectory offers some actual life lessons.
- Stop trying to "save" a version of yourself. Miley tried to stay the "Hannah Montana" girl for Liam, and it nearly broke her. In your own dating life, if you're suppressing your evolution to keep a partner comfortable, it's a countdown to a breakup.
- Creative compatibility matters. If your hobbies and passions don't align, the physical attraction will eventually wear thin. Find someone who likes the "work" you do.
- Privacy is a choice. Notice how Miley shares less about Maxx than she did about Cody or Liam. She’s learned that keeping some things for herself is the only way to protect the spark.
- Accept the "Wrecking Ball." Sometimes, you have to destroy your current life to build one that actually fits who you've become.
Dating Miley Cyrus is clearly not for the faint of heart. It requires a thick skin, a love for animals, and an appreciation for 70s rock aesthetics. But more than that, it requires an ego that can handle being "the guy standing next to Miley Cyrus." For most, that’s a tall order. For the right person, it seems to be the ride of a lifetime.
If you're looking to apply the "Miley Method" to your own life, start by evaluating your "Flowers" moment. Are you buying yourself the bouquet, or are you waiting for someone else to do it? True partnership, as she’s proving now, only happens when you’re already whole.