Inside Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth‘s stormy marriage and ‘issues’ that destroyed them
From fights over commitment to twerking on Robin Thicke, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth were reportedly never quite on the same page
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After a love story to rival Ross and Rachel, when Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth finally got hitched in December 2018, fans thought it would be for good.
But just eight months later the dream was over, with Miley’s rep announcing exactly a year ago today that as “ever-evolving, changing” partners the pair had decided to “both focus on themselves and careers.”
Just hours earlier, the Hannah Montana star had been spotted snogging Brody Jenner’s ex-wife Kaitlynn Carter on a yacht in Italy – something that’s said to have blindsided Liam, 30.
Breaking his silence on their split, he told the Daily Mail, “You don’t understand what it’s like.”
So what was it like? From falling in love as teenagers, to ‘cheating’, twerking and ‘clashes’, here’s a look inside their difficult relationship and marriage…
Teenage sweethearts
Liam and Miley met playing lovers in Nicolas Sparks’ follow-up to The Notebook. The film was cute but Hannah Montana and her Aussie hunk IRL were even cuter.
After pretending they were just ‘best friends’ for months, they finally went public on the red carpet at an Oscars event in March 2010.
She’s just being Miley
Miley’s album Can’t Be Tamed did pretty much what it said on the tin.
The titular track featured lyrics like, “I go through guys like money flying out the hands/ They try to change me but they realize they can’t/And every tomorrow is a day I never plan if you’re gonna be my man understand.”
She admitted most the tracks were about Liam, hinting that she felt her wings had been clipped by their romance.
“All of them are about him in a way, but it’s also about past relationships that you gotta get over and move on and just about freeing yourself from anything that you feel holds you back,” she told MTV News in June 2010.
Two months later they reportedly split for the first time – only to be spotted back together in September.
They were off again by November with a source confirming to E! news that they were taking ‘a time out’.
April 2011 brought a proper reunion for the pair, who were said to be ‘taking it slow’ this time around.
But just over a year later Liam popped the question with a 3.5-carat diamond ring by Neil Lane.
“I’m so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam,” she told People magazine, confirming she’s said ‘yes’.
Cheating rumours
Next minute, Miley chopped her hair off, started wearing grungy clothes and was accused of cheating with Ed Westwick – claims she denied.
Meanwhile, rumours surfaced that Liam had hooked up with actress January Jones at a pre-Oscars party in February 2013 and that April, Miley’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus admitted he didn’t think they’d make it to the aisle.
“They’re young, they’re kids. The great news is they’re great friends. And if you end up getting married, that’s your business too, you know?” he told Nightline.
The twerking era
Miley and Liam made their final red carpet appearance as a couple at the LA premier of Paranoia in August 2013. Then came the twerking.
Miley made memories the world will never forget when she rocked up to the VMAs wearing PVC underwear and grinding on Robin Thicke with her tongue hanging out.
Less than a month later Liam unfollowed her on Twitter and her rep confirmed they were dunzo.
He moved on with Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez quick sharp, while Miley appeared to be the heartbroken one, releasing her ultimate break-up record Wrecking Ball.
Pansexuality
Miley went on to date Patrick Schwarzenegger, but then he was spotted enjoying a clinch with someone who was not Miley.
They split in April 2015 and that July she hooked up with Victoria’s Secret model Stella Maxwell.
Miley was pictured getting hot and heavy with Stella and revealed that she is ‘pansexual’.
“My whole life, I didn’t understand my own gender and my own sexuality. I always hated the word ‘bisexual,’ because that’s even putting me in a box. I don’t ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl,” she told Variety magazine.
“My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick”
“Once I understood my gender more, which was unassigned, then I understood my sexuality more. I was like, ‘Oh — that’s why I don’t feel straight and I don’t feel gay. It’s because I’m not,’” she explained.
Happy in Malibu
That Christmas she took a trip Down Under to visit her old friend Liam and his new dog Dora the Explorer, and it appears love blossomed once more. Within a month the engagement was back on.
Liam confirmed it that May, telling GQ, “People will figure it out, they already have… They’re not dumb,” and after a slew of sweet selfies she released her make-up track Malibu about how he saved her.
And in September 2017 she admitted she couldn’t actually believe she was back with her love.
“Three years ago, if you’d asked me if I’d be here, this happy with this man, I’d have been stunned,” she told The Sun.
“I’m just riding this out. In some relationships, you lose yourself by being with someone else. Actually, it made me find myself more. I have no idea what the next three years will bring, but if it’s possible to get even happier, I’ll take it.”
Final split
However, if reports are to be believed, Liam got sick of waiting for her to commit – with the pair apparently splitting again in July 2018.
“He wants kids and doesn’t want to keep putting it off but it’s not quite the timeline Miley had in mind… he is left heartbroken,” the cource told OK! Australia.
“Miley put off plans for the wedding and Liam was growing tired of it… They haven’t been getting along in recent months.
“[She] didn’t really want to get married. It’s something that everyone else seemed to get but Liam. [His] family had been begging him to see the light for a long time, but he had faith in Miley. Now he feels like an idiot.”
Indeed, just months before Miley had insisted marriage wasn’t on the cards, telling The Sun, “I don’t envision marriage. I’m 24. I hope I get to live a little bit more . I have too much living to do [before I get married].”
Actual marriage
The world was stunned and surprised, however, when a close friend of Miley and Liam shared video and photos online of the pair cutting a wedding cake together on Sunday 23 December 2018.
And on Christmas Eve, reports suggested the couple had indeed finally tied-the-knot in a secret low-key ceremony.
Chris and Miley’s family appeared alongside the pair at the apparently impromptu ceremony held at the chart singer’s family home in Tennessee.
Adding to the wedding speculation was the addition of ‘Mr and Mrs’ balloons in the photos, as well as cream cupcakes.
In one photo, Liam could be seeing doing a ‘shotski’ with his actor brothers Chris, 35, and Luke, 38, who had flown over from Australia for the ‘do.
Miley calls their love ‘confusing’
In July 2019, Miley weighed in on their marriage, admitting she was still attracted to women and that people ‘wouldn’t get’ her ‘complex and modern’ relationship.
“I think it’s very confusing to people that I’m married. But my relationship is unique,” she told Elle magazine.
“I’m in a hetero relationship, but I still am very sexually attracted to women.”
And she rejected the ‘wife’ label, explaining it doesn’t feel like it fits.
“I definitely don’t fit into a stereotypical wife role, I don’t even like that word.”
Separation
While they seemed like one of the most solid couples in showbiz, behind the scenes sources say things were far from easy.
He was reportedly desperate for a child, while Miley wasn’t ready.
And a source told People magazine that to those close to them, the separation hadn’t come as a shock.
“After they reunited, everyone thought they were this ‘perfect’ couple, but they still had a lot of issues,” the insider said.
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