Miley Cyrus is revisiting the moment her life — and home — went up in flames. Years on, and stronger, she has a glass-half-full perspective on the tragedy.
During a recent Q&A at her “Something Beautiful” event in New York, the pop singer described the destruction of her Malibu compound in the 2018 Woolsey Fire as a turning point.
The $2.52 million property, which included a four-bedroom residence and her personal recording studio, Rainbowland, was reduced to ash just weeks before she married Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth.
“When my house burned down, that was the biggest blessing I’ve ever had in my life, actually,” Cyrus said, according to People.
“Losing everything and being able to rebuild, and to be able to be purposeful and choose every piece that I’m gonna collect — or also just about the people in my life.”
The 2-acre estate wasn’t just a home. It was the birthplace of her recording career, where Cyrus, then a teen, laid down tracks for her first album in 2005.
But the fire brought more than physical loss.
“A lot of my relationships also burned down,” she said. “That again just led me to such magic and to have so much gratitude.”
Cyrus and Hemsworth had spent nearly a decade in an on-and-off relationship before marrying in December 2018. By August 2019, they had separated, and their divorce was finalized in early 2020.
At the time of the fire, Cyrus was filming Netflix’s popular “Black Mirror” in South Africa.
She recalled receiving the news while strapped to a gurney, in costume for her character Ashley O.
“Actually as my house was burning down I was strapped to a gurney with my hands locked in handcuffs strapped to a bed,” she shared on TikTok in 2023.
The following day, she was on set again filming a dance-heavy music video. “The show must go on,” she said.
Looking back, she said she would have told her younger self to embrace the difficult times.
“They are only leading you into the light.”
Cyrus, who stepped back from touring in 2023, is now preparing to release her ninth studio album, “Something Beautiful,” on May 30.
The project will be accompanied by a visual film premiering June 6 at the Tribeca Film Festival. One of the album’s eight producers is Maxx Morando, drummer for the band Lilly, whom Cyrus began dating in 2021.
“This album has to start with me loving it,” she said. “Whether you know it or not, it’s gonna be coming through the speakers when you’re listening.”
Hemsworth, 35, has since entered a quieter chapter.
He began dating Australian model Gabriella Brooks in late 2019, though the couple didn’t appear publicly together until the following year.
Brooks made her runway debut at Australia Fashion Week in 2023. Cue fashion brand director Kate Bielenberg called her “such a great girl” and praised her as the embodiment of “cool girl vibes.”