Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth Split Over Her Public Image

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3 hours ago

We all remember Miley Cyrus's Bangerz era, which saw the former Disney star stepping away from her squeaky-clean image and embracing a rebellious, provocative persona.
Around that time that she released the Bangerz album in 2013, Miley found herself embroiled in a number of memorable controversies — like the time she twerked on Robin Thicke during a VMAs performance, or when she stripped naked in her 'Wrecking Ball' music video.
At this time, Miley was in a relationship with — and temporarily engaged to — Liam Hemsworth, whom she met on the set of The Last Song years prior. The pair got engaged for the first time back in May 2012, though they called it off the following September.
In 2016, news broke that Miley and Liam had rekindled their relationship and gotten engaged again. By late 2018, the pair were married — though they parted ways less than a year later.
During this time, Miley released her sixth studio album titled Younger Now, which marked a notable shift from her previous Bangerz era. The project was described by Pitchfork as a glimpse into Miley's 'post-neon maturity' that made a bold 'statement of reinvention,' with less songs about recreational drug use and being a "female rebel" and more inoffensive tracks — like 'Younger Now,' which detailed the way she'd grown up and changed, and 'Malbu,' which was about her rekindled relationship with Liam.
Miley notably switched up her public image around the release of Younger Now too, growing her hair out after famously rocking various shorter styles for years.
Last week, Miley sat down on the Every Single Album podcast to discuss her shift in public image. When asked about why she made a 'complete 180,' the singer candidly shared, 'I think that when me and Liam split up the first time with Bangerz, it was because it was like I was this provocateur and it was highly sexualized.'
'And so for Younger Now, the album, the reason I kind of like played into this innocence was because I think that was a way to keep and a way to stay…If I'm younger now, if I'm less awake as this sexual woman publicly, then this is going to be the way that I can keep a happy home,' she shared.
Miley went on to recall feeling a 'duty' to protect Liam's image when she was in a relationship with him. 'Liam was also a part of other big franchises like The Hunger Games, and his brother is a Marvel superhero. And so I was also representing the family,' she said. 'And so I felt like I needed to, and I, you know, it was my duty too, because my plan was this time, I didn't want the relationship to fall apart. I wanted it to stay intact. And the reason why it didn't work during Bangerz was because of that.'
You can find Miley's full appearance on the Every Single Album podcast here.