Miley Cyrus shows off a breakup tattoo after splitting from Liam Hemsworth

The singer continues to address the split in public

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth announced their separation, but the 26-year-old singer bravely took the stage at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards for a heartbreaking performance of Slide Away, a song she released days after the news of their split broke.

While her latest music has been making headlines – fans seem to think Miley is addressing Hemsworth’s reported ‘constant partying’ as one of the reasons for ending the marriage – it was actually the lyrics to a different song that had everyone talking during Cyrus’ performance on Monday night.

The former Disney star went on stage in a sleeveless little black dress, debuting some new ink on her left bicep by Los Angeles-based tattoo artist Winter Stone – and it looks like it’s a breakup tattoo. Quoting the words to Pixies’ hit The Thing, the ink reads ‘my head was feeling scared, but my heart was feeling free,’ possibly referring to the way she’s dealing with the split.

Miley Cyrus wrote an emotional statement on Twitter last week, denying that adultery was the cause of their split. ‘I can admit to a lot of things but I refuse to admit that my marriage ended because of cheating. Liam and I have been together for a decade. I’ve said it before & it remains true, I love Liam and always will.’

‘But at this point I had to make a healthy decision for myself to leave a previous life behind. I am the healthiest and happiest I have been in a long time,’ she continued. ‘I am proud to say, I am simply in a different place from where I was when I was a younger.’

Meanwhile, Liam Hemsworth officially filed for divorce. The Killerman actor reportedly ‘isn’t ready to head back to Los Angeles just yet’ and has been laying low in Australia, even cancelling various work events.