Miley Cyrus equates her past relationship with Liam Hemsworth to an 'addiction': 'It felt like a relapse every time I'd go back'

• Miley Cyrus reflected on her former relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth during Wednesday's episode of "Joe Rogan Experience."
• While dating, the couple broke up and rekindled numerous times, which the "Midnight Sky" singer said felt like "giving in to an addiction."
• "It felt like a relapse every time I’d go back," she explained.
• Cyrus didn't refer to Hemsworth by name during the conversation, instead calling him the "love of mine who I was with when we got divorced."

Roughly one year after Liam Hemsworth filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus, the "Midnight Sky" singer reflected on their 10-year relationship and eventual split.

During Wednesday's episode of "Joe Rogan Experience," Cyrus likened her relationship with Hemsworth, who she referred to as "the love of mine who I was with when we got divorced" rather than by name, to a "pacifier."

"It was that thing I just needed not because we were in love anymore but because the comfort and because my brain said, 'Oh, this feels better. This is comforting,'" she said.

Before they got married in December 2018, the couple broke up and got back together at least three times.

"Knowing that I was giving in to an addiction made me feel way worse. I had the hangover. Next day, okay, we sleep together, next day, I'm totally hungover," she told Rogan. "It felt like a relapse every time I'd go back."

Their August 2019 split seemed sudden, at least to fans watching from the outside.

The singer vacationed in Italy without Hemsworth and was seen kissing reality star Kaitlynn Carter days before both Cyrus and Hemsworth confirmed the breakup on Instagram.

Cyrus immediately received judgement for moving on from her partner and was accused of cheating on Hemsworth.

She defended herself at the time, and then again this week during her interview.

"What really sucked about it wasn't the fact that me and someone that I loved realized that we don't love each other the way that we used to anymore. That's okay. I can accept that. I can't accept the villainizing and all those stories," she said.

Cyrus continued, "It's just amazing to me that the public kind of thinks that there's no gap of time that they didn't see that could possibly be what led to this. Like it's not, 'One day you were happy on the carpet and the next day you were making out with your friend in Italy! What the f---?' Well, there was a lot of time between that that you didn't see."

Cyrus and Carter parted ways in September 2019, weeks after they were first seen together, and the singer began spending time with her friend Cody Simpson a month later.

The couple amicably broke up 10 months later, vowing to remain close.

Though her divorce with Hemsworth, which was finalized in January 2020, was challenging for Cyrus, she said it taught her to accept when a relationship has run its course, a trait that's led many people to think she's a "cold f---ing b----."

"When it's over, it's over. What's painful isn't the relationship, it's then when it's done, you holding on for that extra however long you try to make it work, something that's not working," she said.

Cyrus, who confirmed that she's currently single, added that commitment is now "non-negotiable" for her.

"You better know what you want because I'm just not interested in taking another 10 years like did with my first love figuring that out."

Watch the full interview below.