Parton appeared in an episode of Hannah Montana in 2006, playing the title character's godmother. The two singers also regularly performed each other's songs and recorded an updated version of Miley's hit “Wrecking Ball” in 2023.
Following Parton's death at 80, Miley described the grief as too personal to fully discuss.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they'll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.”
She said one of their final conversations concerned “music and metamorphosis,” adding that Parton would have wanted her to feel the loss, write about it and continue moving forward.
“I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply.”
That reference to transformation has inevitably attracted attention now that Miley has changed her public identity, although she has not said the two developments are connected.
What happened between Miley and Liam Hemsworth?
Miley's relationship with actor Liam Hemsworth lasted roughly a decade, with several separations along the way. They met while filming The Last Song in 2009, began dating and became engaged in 2012. The engagement ended the following year.
They reunited in 2016 and married in December 2018. By August 2019, Hemsworth had filed for divorce. A source told People at the time that Miley had not expected the filing and felt disappointed, although she had moved on.
The breakup later became closely associated with “Flowers,” widely understood to address the separation. The track became the most successful song of Miley's career.
Her marriage also followed another traumatic event. In November 2018, the Malibu home she shared with Hemsworth was destroyed during the California wildfires. Both escaped safely with their animals.
“I am one of the lucky ones,” Miley wrote at the time. “My animals and LOVE OF MY LIFE made it out safely & that's all that matters right now.” She added that although the house was gone, the memories made there remained.
Why did the Malibu fire influence her marriage?
Speaking to Howard Stern in 2020, Miley said losing the Malibu property had played a major role in her decision to marry Hemsworth. The fire did not simply destroy a building. It took years of personal and creative material with it.
“I had so much and it was all gone, every song I had ever written was in that house,” she said. “Every photograph of me that my parents had given to me, all my scripts, I lost everything.”
The Woolsey Fire devastated large areas of Malibu and surrounding communities. For Miley, the destruction created an urgent need for stability, which contributed to the wedding one month later. The marriage itself ended less than a year after that.
Fans now looking for meaning in the MILEY rebrand have included both the fire and divorce in their theories. That may be emotionally coherent, but it remains interpretation rather than an explanation from the singer.
Has Miley reconciled with Billy Ray Cyrus?
Miley has also endured a difficult period with her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Although they played father and daughter together on Hannah Montana, their real-life relationship became strained for several years.
Reports of an estrangement followed Billy Ray's 2022 divorce from Miley's mother, Tish Cyrus. During an appearance on Monica Lewinsky's podcast Reclaiming, Miley said she felt “a lot of loyalty” toward her mother during the separation.
The father and daughter have since reconciled. Miley wrote “Secrets,” featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, as a gift to Billy Ray, now 65.
“This song was written as a peace offering for someone I had lost for a time but always loved,” she wrote on Instagram in 2025. “In my experience, forgiveness and freedom are one and the same.” She then made the intended recipient entirely clear: “This song is for my dad.”
Dropping Cyrus has naturally revived discussion of that family tension. Still, reconciliation rather than renewed conflict is the latest public development.
Is Miley's voice condition behind the rebrand?
In 2025, Miley disclosed that she had been diagnosed with Reinke's edema, a noncancerous disorder caused by swelling in the vocal cords. It can produce a deeper, rougher or persistently hoarse voice.
Speaking to Zane Lowe, she compared the condition with “abuse of the vocal cords.” Although she drank, smoked and partied in her early twenties, Miley said her distinctive voice had always reflected her anatomy. She also revealed that she has a large polyp on one vocal cord.
“My voice always sounded like this, it's a part of my unique anatomy,” she explained.
Miley decided against surgery because it could alter the sound that has defined her career. “I'm not willing to sever it ever, because the chance of waking up from a surgery and not sounding like myself is a possibility,” she said.
For now, the simplest explanation remains the most practical one: MILEY is likely a new creative identity for a new album. The more personal theories may prove accurate, but until she explains the decision, they remain fan readings of a carefully staged pop rebrand.
