Miley Cyrus Opens Up About Her Emotional Relationship with Mom Tish Cyrus

Miley Cyrus is reflecting on her close bond with her mother Tish Cyrus.

The “Flowers” singer — who released her new album, Something Beautiful, on May 30 — revealed in a New York Times article, published May 31, that her mother, 58, even helped inspire some of the project’s songs, including lead single “End of the World,” which was written during a time when the two were apart.

“That was completely ridiculous. She went on a vacation to Italy without me for one week, and it felt like the end of the world to both of us,” Miley, 32, told the outlet.

“That’s what it’s about. I had never had my mom leave the country without me before,” she explained. “I’m too old to feel that way, but that’s how I felt. And my mom called me and said, ‘I don’t know why, but I want to cry today. I’m looking out my window, and there’s nothing out there for me, because you’re back home.’ ”

The Hannah Montana alum noted that her mom’s words echo the first lyrics in the song, “Today you woke up and you told me that you wanted to cry.” However, that’s not the only lyric that draws parallels to their mother-daughter relationship. Miley shared that another part of the song got her emotional, especially when she sang it for the first time in front of her mother at Chateau Marmont. 

“My mom was right in the front row, and there’s a part — it does it to me now — that says, ‘You’ve been thinking about the future like it’s already yours.’ To me, that was a lyric about not only mortality, but just that every day isn’t promised to us,” Miley told The New York Times.

“So worrying about the future that may never come is pointless, but then me thinking about a future without her just breaks my heart. That lyric gets me every time,” she added.

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The Grammy Award winner also revealed that she has already learned to let go of her mother in certain instances, including relying on her to be there with her on tour.

“My mom no longer travels with me, because I’m 33 years old, and it was getting ridiculous,” the musician told the outlet. “I never want to detach from my mom, because we’re so close. I’ll get tears in my eyes even talking about her. But if nature plays its course in the way that it does, I will be an individual without my mom at some point, and that used to completely paralyze me.” 

“So I guess the reason I said ‘I mother me’ is because I don’t have my mom with me the way that I used to,” she continued. “And now I just go, ‘What was it about her that made everything better?’ It was safety, because I knew any situation that I didn’t feel safe in, my mom would get me out of it or make it better. And so now I just imagine what soothed me about her, and then I do it for myself.”

Earlier this month, Miley made a rare public statement on her Instagram Stories addressing false claims about her mother Tish — after she appeared to unfollow her daughter for a short time on Instagram — while also giving an update on the status of her relationship with father Billy Ray Cyrus, who was married to Tish from 1993 to 2022. The two welcomed three children together: Miley, Braison and Noah Cyrus. Billy Ray also adopted Tish’s children, Brandi and Trace Cyrus.

“I rarely comment on rumors, but my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us. She’s my best friend,” Miley wrote in her statement, adding that Tish doesn’t know “how to work her phone” like “a lot of moms.” She then addressed her relationship with her father, acknowledging that they “have had our challenges over the years.”

“Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else,” the “More to Lose” artist concluded her message. “I’m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing. Grateful for the good health and love that flows through my family.”

Something Beautiful is out now.