Miley Cyrus’ love for fiancé Maxx Morando isn’t paper-thin.
After all, the drummer helps her with an unusual fear that has plagued the “Flowers” singer for decades: her phobia of paper. In fact, the fear has even impacted her ability to lean into the festive spirit.
“Christmas, I’m known as a little bit of a Grinch because I have a qualm with Christmas,” she told Jimmy Kimmel during a Dec. 4 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “The real problem for me with paper is when people have dry hands and they touch paper and then it’s Christmas and it’s cold and everyone’s hands are dry and they’re all touching paper.”
But the fear extends beyond Yuletide, so much so that Miley—who said she can trace the phobia back to her childhood, when her siblings would taunt her by rubbing paper together—admitted it’s affecting her “everyday life.”
“Someone gets an Amazon box, I’m sick, because the cardboard is the worst of it all,” she said. “It’s extra dry and there’s packaging within it.”
Thankfully, Maxx is there to save the day. “That’s really why I got engaged,” she joked. “Because I just make my fiancé open all the packages outside.”
But when it comes to her upcoming nuptials, the 33-year-old knows from her first marriage to Liam Hemsworth that the marriage certificate will be palatable.
“Here’s the thing, waxed paper, anything that’s got a smooth surface, that’s better,” she explained. “And from the last marriage, I think I remember the paper is waxed.”
The paper options for her and Maxx’s special day, however, are a decision for tomorrow. After all, Miley is still reveling in their surprise engagement.
“I am not easy to surprise,” Miley admitted during a Dec. 3 appearance on Good Morning America. “I love to control every situation. I had completely surrendered. I’m telling you, I was so, so, so surprised.”
As for his decision to propose to her in Japan—somewhere she’d never been before—it’s exactly what the Grammy winner had wanted.
As she put it, “I wanted one place in the world that could be my special place that I saved for me.”
Plus, she’s more than ready to give Maxx his flowers for the sparkler he chose. As she exclaimed, “He did good!”
For more on Maxx and Miley’s road to forever, read on.
November 2021
Miley Cyrus and musician Maxx Morando began dating in 2021. "We got put on a blind date," she recalled to British Vogue in 2023. "Well, it was blind for me and not really for him. I thought, 'The worst that can happen is I leave.'"
Miley didn't leave and, as their romance blossomed, the pair went red carpet official at the Gucci Love Parade event on November 2, 2021.
May 2022
Miley and Maxx, who is a drummer in the band Liily, enjoyed a night out seeing Chicago on Broadway.
March 2023
The "Flowers" singer and her boyfriend stepped out together at a Versace runway show in West Hollywood on March 9, 2023.
February 2024
Maxx was by Miley's side when she won her first-ever Grammy at the 2024 award ceremony. The couple even shared a sweet smooch at their table during the event, and Miley referred to Maxx in her acceptance speech as "my love."
February 2025
They returned to the Grammy Awards in 2025 for another public date night. "He’s very similar to me," Miley told Harper's Bazaar in an interview published November 2024. "We just don’t take life too seriously."
February 2025
Maxx, who is six years younger than the Hannah Montana star, joined Miley on the red carpet at SNL50: The Anniversary Special, to celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live.
March 2025
The musicians got glammed up for a big night out at the 2025 Oscars ceremony.
March 2025
And later that night they stepped out in fresh looks for an appearance at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.