How Miley Cyrus Feels About Being a “Cougar” in Maxx Morando Romance

Miley Cyrus shared why she doesn’t mind being considered one of the “cougars” when it comes to her relationship with her boyfriend Maxx Morando, who is five years her junior. 

Miley Cyrus thinks there’s something beautiful about the age difference in her romance. 

After her sister Brandi Cyrus joked that they are both “cougars” in their relationships, the “Flowers” singer got candid about why she doesn’t mind the descriptor, sharing that she enjoys being older than her boyfriend Maxx Morando.

“He will be 27 when I turn 33,” Miley told Brandi—whose boyfriend Matt Southcombe is one year her junior—during a June 19 appearance on the Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast, “which I’m so excited for him to turn 27 ‘cause that was such a great year for me.” 

And the Grammy winner joked that Maxx—who she was first linked to in 2021—was fortunate to have a great example to look to as he heads into a new chapter. 

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

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

“I couldn’t be with someone [who] doesn’t sting,” she added. “They would have been toast already.”

This isn’t the first time Miley has provided insight into how her and Maxx’s age-gap manifests in their dynamic. Back in November, she shared how she can tell they were born into different generations. 

“He looks at life really differently than I do,” Miley told Harper’s Bazaar at the time. “He grew up with a laptop. I had a desktop computer that I shared with my brothers and sisters.”

Still, she noted that they ultimately have more in common than not. As she put it, “We just don’t take life too seriously.”

For more on Miley and Maxx’s love story, 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.