Miley Cyrus isn't going to let anyone take a wrecking ball to her privacy.
The "Flowers" singer broke her silence after news of her engagement to Maxx Morando was confirmed on Dec. 2 following four years of dating, admitting that she's "astounded" they've been able to keep most of the details out of the public eye.
"The detail I can share is that, for us, our privacy and us kind of keeping it small has been something that I've been astounded that I've actually been able to have," Miley explained to People in an interview published Dec. 2, "and being able to kind of have more choice."
And the 33-year-old partly credits her age with being able to set boundaries when it comes to her romance with Maxx, 27. As she put it, "It's also being older, being more protective of what I'm open to sharing."
And that's not the only aspect of their relationship that she's proud of. For Miley—who finalized her divorce from Liam Hemsworth in 2020, less than two years after their California home burned down in the Malibu fires—meeting and falling in love with Maxx in 2021 proved her capacity for "starting over" and "building again."
"After I lost my house in the fires, that wasn't all that I lost," Miley explained during a Dec. 1 press conference, per Hello! magazine. "I really actually went down to the ashes and rebuilt my life personally and physically [with] my home."
And as for how the Grammy winner knows she and Maxx will stand the test of time? For one, she told Harper's Bazaar in 2024 that they "don't take life too seriously."
Plus, Maxx's astrological sign doesn't hurt either.
"He’s a Scorpio and so is his grandfather, that’s what makes Maxx just so cool because he can sting," Miley shared during a June appearance on the Sorry We're Cyrus podcast. "Like, [Scorpios are] very cool, think that they’re little angels, until it turns around and they got a sting."
She added, "I couldn't be with someone [who] doesn't sting—they would have been toast already."
For more on Miley and Maxx's road to engagement, keep reading.
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.