It's been one of the most surprising romances of the summer. Shortly after both Miley Cyrus and Kaitlynn Carter announced their respective breakups, news of their relationship emerged. There was a highly-publicized Italian vacay, backstage VMAs PDA, and now pics of the couple for Carter's 31st birthday. Here, a look back at all that's gone down in their month of dating.
August 2, 2019: The door to a relationship between Cyrus and Carter officially opens with the announcement of her separation from Brody Jenner. On August 2, Carter and Jenner release a statement to Us Weekly, which reads, "Brody Jenner and Kaitlynn Carter have decided to amicably separate. They love and respect one another, and know that this is the best decision for their relationship moving forward."
However, a source tells the outlet that after the couple's June 2018 Indonesian wedding, a U.S. marriage license was never obtained. So, technically, Jenner and Carter had never been legally married in the first place. Viewers were privy to marital problems between the two, including whether they would classify their relationship as "open" on The Hills: New Beginnings.
August 9, 2019: About a week later, the newly-single Carter posts a yacht selfie with Cyrus, while vacationing in Italy. "rock the boat, don’t rock the boat baby ⚓️," she captions the snap.
August 11, 2019
A People source says Carter and Cyrus are mutual friends "just having fun together."
Hours later, Cyrus's rep confirms to People that her and Hemsworth have split after less than a year of marriage. The statement reads:
"Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time. Ever-evolving, changing as partners and individuals, they have decided this is what's best while they both focus on themselves and careers. They still remain dedicated parents to all of their animals they share while lovingly taking this time apart. Please respect their process and privacy."
August 12, 2019: The Instagram account Comments By Celebs documents the ensuing comments section drama. A day earlier, Jenner had commented on Carter's yacht selfie, "Hot girl summer," which many began to read as a sign of support.
Jenner shares a photo of himself on Instagram the following day with the caption, "Don't let yesterday take up too much of today." The Hills: New Beginnings co-star Brandon Lee comments, "Let's round this scandal out and post a pic of us making out." To which Jenner replies, "watch out! Pics of Liam and I holding hands on the beach coming soon."
Clearly, Cyrus didn't take kindly to the jokes. She promptly tells Jenner to, "go take a nap in your truck and cool off #HotGirlSummer."
Within a few days, all parties seemingly weigh in on the drama. Carter posts a video to her Instagram Stories of her swaying to the song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Cyrus begins a lengthy post-breakup Instagram post with the phrase, "Don't fight evolution, because you will never win." Hemsworth confirms the breakup on social media, writing that he wished Cyrus "nothing but health and happiness going forward." In a since-deleted comment, Jenner writes:
"There is far too much negativity being directed at someone who I love and care about very much. I feel the need to set the story straight. Kaitlynn and I have been best friends for 6 years, and we continue to be. We, like many others before us and many after us, grew in different directions over those same 6 years. Kaitlynn is a wonderful person, beautiful and fun to be with, always a positive force in my life. We decided the best move for both of us was to keep our love for each other strong but move forward separately with our lives. I respect Kaitlynn and care deeply about her. She deserves to be able to move forward in her life with respect and happiness."
A source tells People that after the Italy trip, Carter is staying with Cyrus as they spend more time together. "Miley is very close with Kaitlynn," the insider said. "It's romantic, but also a friendship. They are both going through similar stuff right now and are bonding over it."
August 16, 2019: Cyrus releases the song, "Slide Away," which addresses her recent breakup with Hemsworth.
August 19,2019: A Page Six report claims that Carter and Cyrus were spotted making out at West Hollywood's Soho House. However, a source tells ELLE.com that the report was false.
August 20, 2019: Cyrus has already permanently commemorated her Italy trip with a tattoo. Tattoo artist Dr. Woo shared a photo of the dragon tattoo on Cyrus's arm, captioning it, "Cool old sculpture @mileycyrus found in Italy ✨ 🐉🖼."
That same day, Jenner shared a photo of a weed gift basket he'd received from Carter and Cyrus for his birthday to his Instagram Stories.
August 22, 2019: Then comes a revealing Twitter thread from Cyrus. She reflects on how she's changed from her Disney days—and dispels infidelity rumors. Cyrus wrote, "I can admit to a lot of things but I refuse to admit that my marriage ended because of cheating. Liam and I have been together for a decade. I've said it before & it remains true, I love Liam and always will."
August 23, 2019: E! reports that Hemsworth's August 21 divorce filing was influenced by Cyrus and Carter's relationship."Even though Miley and Liam were separated for a while before she was photographed making out on the yacht with Kaitlynn, once Liam saw those photos he decided it was time to file for divorce," a source said. "That was it for him, seeing those photos and then all the Soho House stories thereafter."
August 26, 2019: Cyrus performs her emotional new single, "Slide Away" at the VMAs. Both of Cyrus's parents are in attendance, as well as Carter. The two are seen backstage and holding hands on the way to an afterparty.
While onstage, Cyrus debuts a new breakup tattoo, a lyric from the Pixies's song "The Thing," per People. It reads, "My head was feeling scared, but my heart was feeling free." Celebrity tattoo artist Winter Stone shared a photo of his work to Instagram.
August 29, 2019: A source tells Us Weekly that Hemsworth "quickly" filed for divorce once he, and his family, saw photos of Carter and Cyrus kissing. "He thought they could work it out, but all those pictures of her and Kaitlynn ended that," the insider explained. "Liam comes from a very conservative family and his family was freaked out by it."
September 2, 2019: The Daily Mail obtains photos of Cyrus, Carter, and Cyrus' mom Tish grabbing lunch in Los Angeles. A Cyrus source tells People the same day that the couple live together "and are very happy," adding, "Miley is doing great. She is moving on. She seems to have no regrets. She loves being with Kaitlynn."
September 4, 2019: As if moving in together wasn't confirmation enough, an Us Weekly source says Cyrus has "really fallen for" Carter. "Miley and Kaitlynn are on the same page, which is why they work so well together," the insider explains. The source adds that Carter's "free-spirited, nonjudgmental, fun personality" is what Cyrus loves most about her. "She's really fallen for her and the feeling is mutual! Miley feels she can totally be herself with Kaitlynn, and is really comfortable around her," the source tells Us.
September 5, 2019: For Carter's 31st birthday, she has a celebratory dinner with Cyrus and friends. She even posts a few black-and-white photos of herself and Cyrus, their first official pics since the Italy selfie that started it all.
November 27, 2020: Cyrus releases her album Plastic Hearts, which features the song "Angels Like You," and fans are convinced the track is about her short fling with Carter. The lyrics are, in part: "I know that you're wrong for me / Gonna wish we never met on the day I leave I brought you down to your knees / 'Cause they say that misery loves company / It's not your fault I ruin everything / And it's not your fault I can't be what you need / Baby, angels like you can't fly down here with me / I'll put you down slow, love you goodbye / Before you let go, just one more time / Take off your clothes, pretend that it's fine / A little more hurt won't kill you / Tonight mama says you don't look happy / Close your eyes."
These lyrics seem to reference reports that, in the summer of 2019, Cyrus and Carter bonded over their respective heartbreak and recent divorces. There also seems to be a reference to the kind of hurt that happens when one person is more available than the other in a relationship ("It's not your fault I can't be what you need").
"This past July, I went on vacation with a female friend; the next thing I knew, I was in love with her," Carter wrote for ELLE in November 2019: "Until that trip, it had never crossed my mind that I was even capable of loving a woman the way I loved her...I fell just as hard for her as I had the older man so many years before. It was that same familiar force of nature; I didn’t have to think about a thing or overanalyze. It just happened and it felt exactly right. Reflecting back on our three-year friendship, I realized I’d always been drawn to her in a way I wasn’t with other friends, but until that trip it had never crossed my mind to think of her in a romantic sense."
