By Durra Al-Assaad

In August, all our hearts broke when we found out the news- Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth broke up. We had been rooting them since the movie “The Last Song” came out. They dated from 2009 until 2013 when they broke off their engagement. They needed the time to explore themselves and find themselves in that time apart. Miley needed to go through her wild phase in order to grow up and Liam needed some time to be with himself. In 2016, the world found out that they were back together. Miley, a year later, released the song Malibu where she sang about their love and how she needed time to explore and be herself before she realized what type of person she wanted to be. Then, in December 2018, Miley and Liam got married in her Nashville home and we all thought that they were end game. We were wrong. 7 months later, in August, they filed for divorce and it broke all our hearts, especially mine. 

During the time of the divorce, Miley released a song titled “Slide Away.” In Slide Away, Miley Cyrus talks about her marriage with Liam Hemsworth. When you first listen to the song, Miley sings,

Once upon a time, it was paradise

Once upon a time, I was paralyzed
Think I’m gonna miss these harbor lights
But it’s time to let it go
Once upon a time, it was made for us
Woke up one day, it had turned to dust
Baby, we were found, but now we’re lost
So it’s time to let it go

Here, Miley talks about how she and Liam were once in paradise and in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Everything was perfect for them. However, she felt like she was stuck in the relationship and she wasn’t herself. She continues saying she is “gonna miss these harbor lights” meaning that she is going to miss all the times she had with Liam. As she continues, she says that after their breakup in 2013 allowed them to find themselves and then come back together in 2016. She now feels like that she is lost and can’t sustain the marriage. 

I want my house in the hills
Don’t want the whiskey and pills
I don’t give up easily
But I don’t think I’m down

Here, Miley talks about how she wants her house in the hills. What she means by the ‘hills’ is that her Malibu house in the hills that was lost in the Woolsey fires. After the fire, she was so distraught and wrote her feelings out in a journal; this was the event that made her get married to Liam December of last year. When she states, “Don’t want the whiskey and pills,” she is talking about Liam’s party life. Everyone around the world assumes and associated Miley with twerking, drinking, doing drugs, and partying. However, from her perspective, Miley needed to go through that phase to grow up. She had been in the spotlight since she was a child and she felt that she needed to keep up the perfect Hollywood image of a Disney star. In reality, she states that Liam is the one who parties more than she does, and he does massive drugs. When she states, that she won’t give up easily, she means that she tried to help him by stopping his drug addiction and partying however she has tried to the ends of the Earth. She also states in an interview that she needed to breakup with Liam to keep her sobriety. 

So won’t you slide away
Back to the ocean, I’ll go back to the city lights

Here, when Miley sings that “back to the ocean,” she references to the fact that Liam is from Australia and she had grown up in LA, the city lights, her whole life. She states that now with the divorce she can be able to go back to LA and he can go back to Australia. 

Move on, we’re not 17
I’m not who I used to be
You say that everything changed
You’re right, we’re grown now

When Miley was 17, she began filming for the Last Song and dating Liam. She is trying to tell the audience that she is no longer 17 and no longer a teenager. Miley is saying that she is no longer the girl she was before she started dating Liam. She has grown and evolved into a new person. Liam would tell her that she changed however the only changing she had done was that she evolved and grown up. 

Miley and Liam are over and we can be upset however it will be better in Miley’s life. She thinks that this divorce will be better for her, especially her sobriety. Her sobriety is the most important thing in her life right now and with Liam she almost lost it. We all wish that Liam and Miley were still together however what would be best for her health. Maybe the 3rd time is a charm, 10 years from now, they come back together all over again.