Miley Cyrus had a clear message for Liam Hemsworth after the MTV VMAs as she flaunted her new love, Kaitlynn Carter.
The singer, 26, performed Slide Away – the breakup song she released days after her split from Hemsworth – and later, showed some serious PDA with Carter, 30, in front of cameras at a New York club.
Perhaps in a case of picking her big moment, Cyrus and Carter appeared to snub the VMAs red carpet at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, leaving it to Victoria’s Secret models Gigi and Bella Hadid to turn heads in near-naked outfits.
But Cyrus and Carter well and truly made up for it after the show.
Once the show was over, the pair held hands as they swapped New Jersey for Manhattan, and went to an after-party at A-list club, Up & Down.
Earlier, Carter had attended the VMAs to support Cyrus but did not sit in the audience.
The reality star and ex-wife of The Hills’ Brody Jenner was seen tenderly stroking Cyrus’ hair as the pair walked backstage.
Of course, Slide Away includes lyrics aimed directly at Hemsworth and his partying ways, which Cyrus clearly blamed for their breakup.
The lyrics? “Move on, we’re not seventeen / I’m not who I used to be / You say that everything changed / You’re right, we’re grown now”.
And it doesn’t stop there. “I want my house in the hills/Don’t want the whiskey and pills/I don’t give up easily/But I don’t think I’m down.”
One familiar face in the crowd was Cyrus’ dad, Old Town Road singer Billy Ray Cyrus, who – along with the crowd – gave Miley a standing ovation.
Meantime, Taylor Swift stunned during her performance to open the Video Music Awards, wearing a pair of purple Versace hotpants, a glittering gold bustier and Christian Louboutin boots.
She sang her new singles, You Need to Calm Down and Lover, of her new album of the same name.
Earlier, Swift wore a baroqueprint Versace blazer to walk the red carpet.
INSIDE LIAM AND MILEY’S DIVORCE
If Liam Hemsworth was hoping for a quick exit from his marriage to Miley Cyrus, it’s not going to happen in 2019.
The Australian actor, 29, filed for divorce from the pop singer in the US state of California – where couples must be separated for at least six months before a divorce is finalised. This means the pair won’t be officially divorced before February 2020.
Under California law, Miley Cyrus has 30 days to respond to Hemsworth’s petition to divorce, which his Hollywood lawyer, Laura Wasser, said was based on irreconcilable differences.
TMZ reported that the A-listers had a prenup in place that kept the money they made during their seven-month marriage separate. But one of New York’s most prominent celebrity divorce lawyers – Dror Bikel, author of the book The 1% Divorce: When Titans Clash – says not all prenups are worth the paper they’re printed on.
“Absent a prenup, it can take years to untangle assets, a family business, private equity holdings and so on,” Mr Bikel told News Corp Australia.
“On the other hand, these agreements must be drafted flawlessly and with full disclosure of all assets by both parties for the agreement to be held valid by the court.
“It’s a shame to see any marriage on the rocks and unfortunately the entertainment industry sees a high percentage of failures. ‘Blame’ probably won’t be relevant to the finances in the divorce here, it’s probably more a strategic personal branding issue managed by each spouse’s management and PR people.
“If there’s a valid prenup, things can go quickly and smoothly.”
Cyrus is said to be worth about $A300 million compared to her estranged husband’s $A40 million.
Hemsworth’s lawyer Laura Wasser is one of the big guns when it comes to celebrity breakups, having represented Angelina Jolie in her divorce from Brad Pitt. Her other famous clients include Kim Kardashian, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner and Britney Spears. Her Divorce Sucks podcast has been host to the likes of Khloe Kardashian, Anna Faris and Kris Jenner.
The Hemsworth-Cyrus split has been notable for both sides using “sources” to accuse the other party of being less than faithful in the marriage.
Yet, in the eyes of the courts in California, that doesn’t even matter, says Dror Bikel, founding partner of Bikel & Schanfileld.
“Every US state has its own laws on divorce and they vary. California is a no-fault state meaning alleged ‘womanising’ wouldn’t be relevant,” Mr Bikel said.
“The general rule that whatever money you earned during the marriage and any assets you purchased with it, will be ‘community property’ in California, it’s split down the middle.
“Whatever you came into the marriage with is typically ‘separate property’ and not subject to splitting.”
But if Hemsworth had filed in Tennessee where they also lived, the tales of philandering on both sides could have made a difference to the outcome.
“In Tennessee, you can file either fault or no-fault, however the primary relevance in an adultery situation is whether or not the marital estate – their joint property – was diminished by the womanising which might affect the ultimate split of the joint property,” Mr Bikel said.
“For example, if the philandering spouse bought art, real estate, high value jewellery and the like with joint funds, there would, in Tennessee, likely be a reckoning in the form of its value being credited to the innocent spouse.”
Mr Bikel said celebrity life was hard on a marriage.
“Celebrity marriages are tough, especially in the entertainment industry. The spouses are apart often for months at a time as tours and filming have gruelling schedules at far away locations.
“The spotlight and separate friend groups can add even further pressure on the bond.
“In my experience working with high profile spouses, where brand value is massive and if kids are involved, we will often work out a quick and quiet settlement so as not to damage the brands.”