Miley Cyrus, 32, Jokes About Being a ‘Cougar’ in Family Update on Romance

Miley Cyrus jokingly referred to herself as a ‘cougar’ while discussing her relationship with boyfriend Maxx Morando, who is six years younger than her. 

The 32-year-old Grammy winner — who recently made a surprise appearance at Beyonce’s Paris concert — opened up about the topic on Thursday’s episode of her mom Tish and sister Brandi’s Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast. 

The former Disney channel star has been linked with the 26-year-old drummer since 2021, while both her mom and older sister are also in relationships with younger men. 

Brandi, 38, is currently dating Matt Southcombe, 36, while Tish, 58, is married to Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell, 55. 

The Flowers songstress stated, ‘[Maxx] will be 27 when I turn 33, which I’m so excited for him to turn 27 because that was such a great year for me. 

‘I’m just hoping that, as long as he follows in my footsteps, everything is going to be great. That’s right when I started turning my life around.’ 

Miley Cyrus, 32, jokingly referred to herself as a ‘cougar’ while discussing her relationship with boyfriend Maxx Morando, who is six years younger than her; seen in May in NYC

The Flowers songstress stated, ‘[Maxx] will be 27 when I turn 33, which I’m so excited for him to turn 27 because that was such a great year for me’; couple seen in March in Beverly Hills 

Miley also pointed out that she is ‘the landslide’ of all three due to her age gap from Maxx being the most. 

She later said, ‘Me and Maxx… sometimes we’re only four [years apart] for three days. We’re only a couple of days apart.

‘He’s a Scorpio [and] so is his grandfather, that’s what makes Maxx just so cool because he can sting. Like, very cool [and they] think that they’re little angels until it turns around and they got a sting.’ 

The performer continued, ‘I couldn’t be with someone [who] doesn’t sting. They would have been toast already.’ 

Cyrus and Morando first began dating after they went on a blind date back in 2021 and their romance was officially confirmed the following year.

During a past interview with British Vogue in 2023, the actress expressed: ‘Well, it was blind for me and not really for him. I thought, “The worst that can happen is I leave.”‘

The couple mainly keep their relationship out of the public eye, but have been spotted at a few events this year. 

Back in March, Miley and Maxx were seen walking the red carpet together at the 97th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood. Later that evening, the pair also stopped by Vanity Fair Oscars Party.

The performer continued, ‘I couldn’t be with someone [who] doesn’t sting. They would have been toast already’

Back in March, Miley and Maxx were seen walking the red carpet together at the 97th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood (seen above). Later that evening, the pair also stopped by Vanity Fair Oscars Party

One month prior, the two stars also attended the SNL50: The Anniversary Special in NYC as well as the Homecoming Concert alongside Miley’s mother Tish Cyrus.

And just last week, the lovebirds were seen enjoying a lowkey outing together in Malibu. 

Cyrus has previously talked about her and Maxx’s age gap during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar late last year. 

‘He looks at life really differently than I do,’ she said, before adding, ‘He grew up with a laptop. I had a desktop computer that I shared with my brothers and sisters.’ 

Despite him being younger, the singer explained, ‘He’s very similar to me. We just don’t take life too seriously.’

Also during her podcast appearance this week, Miley made the allegations that her Hannah Montana co-star Mitchel Musso had smoked pot on set, which he soon shut down. 

‘Well, that’s not how I remember it,’ Musso expressed in a statement to E! News. ‘However, I’ve got plenty of stories from those years that might be worth having a conversation about.

‘If we’re revisiting Hannah Montana history — just say the word,’ he continued, before emphasizing that he had no hard feelings towards the performer.

Despite him being younger, the singer explained, ‘He’s very similar to me. We just don’t take life too seriously’; seen in 2024 in L.A. 

Also during her podcast appearance this week, Miley made the allegations that her Hannah Montana co-star Mitchel Musso had smoked pot on set – which he soon shut down; seen above with Musso and Emily Osment on Hannah Montana 

‘All love to Miley and the fam, even when the rewrites get this creative,’ Mitchel concluded to the outlet.

Cyrus and Musso had worked alongside other stars on the Disney channel series including her dad Billy Ray, Emily Osment, Jason Earles and Moises Arias.

The show was a hit and aired on the network for a total of four seasons – and also spawned concert films and other projects such as Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009).

The show also garnered a number of accolades during its time on the air, such as receiving four Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Children’s Program.

Along with Hannah Montana, Mitchel is also known for his roles in the animated series Phineas And Ferb as well as Disney XD’s Pair Of Kings.

However, he was written out of the latter after his arrest in 2013 for DUI suspicion – and had also been driving while intoxicated under the legal age since he was age 20 at the time of the incident.

In 2023, he was arrested for public drunkenness and allegedly stealing a bag of chips from a motel in Texas. Later that same year, the two major charges of public intoxication and theft were dropped.

During Miley’s appearance on the Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast which dropped on Thursday, she cleared the air about what went down behind the scenes of Hannah Montana.

‘Well, that’s not how I remember it,’ Musso expressed. ‘However, I’ve got plenty of stories from those years that might be worth having a conversation about’; seen in 2018 in Hollywood 

In 2023, he was arrested for public drunkenness and allegedly stealing a bag of chips from a motel in Texas. Later that same year, the two major charges of public intoxication and theft were dropped; seen in 2009 with Cyrus and Osment 

Miley didn’t miss a beat, replying, ‘Dad smoking pot and everyone blaming me for it’ – and her sister Brandi quickly confirmed, ‘I do remember that’; seen art Hannah Montana: The Movie premiere in 2009 

Cyrus teased the whole family went through a, ‘really difficult, dark decade’ but they were able to get through it

When a fan wrote in asking, ‘What’s a core memory from the Hannah Montana days that still makes you laugh?’

Miley didn’t miss a beat, replying, ‘Dad smoking pot and everyone blaming me for it,’ and her sister Brandi quickly confirmed, ‘I do remember that.’

The Flowers hitmaker pointed to Tish and added, ‘And he wasn’t sharing, ’cause this one wasn’t toking yet.’

Tish – who’s since been open about her marijuana use – chimed in with a laugh, recalling how she tried to defend Billy Ray at the time: ‘They were calling me saying ‘B-Ray’ was smoking pot and I was like, “Absolutely not, he would never do that!”‘

The trio then cracked up as they joked about Miley’s former Hannah Montana castmate Mitchel Musso taking the blame instead.

Back in January, Tish opened up about why she stopped smoking weed, despite previously embracing her status as a self-proclaimed stoner.

Miley also recently unpacked a decade’s worth of family drama and trauma and revealed how she mended all of her fences.

She grew up to be a global pop star in her own right, though she revealed on last Tuesday’s episode of Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, her road to fame was filled with family strife.

Cyrus teased the whole family went through a, ‘really difficult, dark decade’ but they were able to get through it. 

But the star revealed on the podcast that the family was able to mend their fences without therapy.