This week, Miley Cyrus made a stunning entrance on a Hollywood red carpet, showcasing a piece of jewelry that signified a significant change in her personal life.
The ‘Party in the USA’ star caught the attention of photographers and attendees alike at the Avatar: Fire and Ash premiere on Monday, December 1, as she flaunted an engagement ring.
The following day, Cyrus confirmed her engagement to drummer Maxx Morando, following a surge of inquiries about the ring. In an interview with PEOPLE, she expressed her astonishment at managing to keep their upcoming wedding plans under wraps for so long.
“The detail I can share is that, for us, our privacy and us kind of keeping it small has been something that I’ve been astounded that I’ve actually been able to have,” the 33-year-old artist mentioned.
She mentioned that maintaining this privacy allowed her the freedom to make this significant life decision ‘and being able to kind of have more choice.’
Cyrus continued, explaining that her increased maturity has helped maintain healthy boundaries in the relationship and keep it out of the public eye.
“It’s also being older, being more protective of what I’m open to sharing,” she admitted.
Morando, a Grammy-winning musician and a member of the band Liily, started dating the former Hannah Montana star in 2021, a year after Cyrus finalized her divorce from Liam Hemsworth.
During the interview, Miley expressed pride in discovering her inner strength after ‘starting over’ and rebuilding following her first marriage and the loss of her Malibu home two years prior.
Relating her personal journey to the themes in the new Avatar film, she remarked to PEOPLE that the screening was ‘about love, family resilience and kind of reconnection and that stronger together idea’.
Reflecting on her joy about the engagement, she noted: “And so I thought it was kind of perfectly thematic and aligned with where I am in my life now.”
In a rare disclosure, Cyrus once mentioned how Morando’s astrological sign was promising.
“He’s a Scorpio and so is his grandfather, that’s what makes Maxx just so cool because he can sting,” she said on the Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast.
She continued: “I couldn’t be with someone [who] doesn’t sting—they would have been toast already.”
The exact timing of their engagement remains unknown, but entertainment media had noticed a similar ring on her finger at events and in a mid-November Instagram post.
The ring is believed to be a custom creation, with Morando investing in a 14-karat yellow gold band featuring a sizable cushion-cut stone.
Jewelry experts, speaking to PEOPLE, estimated that the ring could have cost up to $450,000.