"This is what's best."

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have reportedly split after nine months of marriage. The pair, who wed in December of last year, had been in an on-again-off-relationship since 2009 when they met on the set of The Last Song.  PEOPLE confirmed their split this weekend, stating that both parties wanted to end the marriage to focus "on themselves and their careers." “Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time,” a rep for Cyrus told the publication. “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.” This comes after rumours of the couple's split began circulating social media this week when Cyrus shared a photo of herself on holiday not wearing her wedding ring. The singer posted the image of herself enjoying some time away in Italy wearing an eclectic mix of other jewellery, but not her wedding band. Cyrus and Hemsworth first started dating in 2009 when they met while filming The Last Song.  They were engaged for the first time between 2012 and 2013, before splitting for three years. The pair eventually got back together in March 2016 and announced their engagement later that year. On December 23 2018, they married in an intimate ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0_HIY1pZo8/?utm_source=ig_embed At the time, Cyrus said that she felt getting married was "kind of out of character" because "[she and Hemsworth have] worn rings forever [and] definitely didn’t need it in any way." She later told Elle that people might find her marriage "confusing." "My relationship is unique,” she said. “I don’t know that I would ever publicly allow people in [the relationship] because it’s so complex, and modern, and new that I don’t think we’re in a place where people would get it. “I mean, do people really think that I’m at home in a f*cking apron cooking dinner? I’m in a hetero relationship, but I still am very sexually attracted to women.”