Miley Cyrus might be practicing social distancing, but she’s more connected than ever with her fans and fellow celebs.
The singer-songwriter has been hosting a series of livestreams on her IG page called Bright Minded, where she chats with other stars about a variety of important issues. Last week, she talked with Demi Lovato about anxiety and body shaming, and discussed the importance of limiting your news intake during an episode with Amy Schumer. Miley’s most recent guest was none other than Hailey Bieber, and the two covered a lot of ground, including sexuality and spirituality.
During their conversation, Hailey opened up about finding her spiritual calling as an adult, which might look a little different than when she was younger. “I think there’s a difference between being raised in church and then being an adult and having your own relationship with God,” she explained, adding: “I feel like I’ve found my footing with spirituality and faith and church. I’ve found a church community that works for me where I feel supported and loved and accepted.”
Miley later explained that it hasn’t always been so easy for her, especially as she was navigating both her sexual identity and her spirituality. “I was raised going to church as a believer, and that was a really important part of my life,” Miley shared. “And I kind of fell off that path a little bit because I think I had a hard time finding a relationship with God that worked for me as an adult.”
She went on to describe growing up in Tennessee in the ‘90s, explaining: “It was a less accepting time.” Miley added that several of her friends who identified as gay weren’t welcomed in church, and some were even sent to conversion therapy. “I had a really hard time with that,” she told Hailey. “And I had a hard time with me finding my sexuality too. So, you now telling me that I’m allowed to redesign my relationship with God as an adult, and make it how it feels most accepting to me, makes me feel so less turned off by spirituality.”
Miley has often been open about her sexual identity since coming out as pansexual in 2015. “My whole life, I didn’t understand my own gender and my own sexuality,” Miley said during a 2016 interview with Variety, adding: “My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick. I grew up in a very religious Southern family. The universe has always given me the power to know I’ll be OK. Even at that time, when my parents didn’t understand, I just felt that one day they are going to understand.”
You can watch Miley’s entire interview with Hailey below. We can’t wait to see who she chats with next!
