Miley Cyrus has said she was “so, so surprised” by fiancé Maxx Morando’s proposal—and now, fans are learning just how he popped the question.
The “Flowers” singer and fellow musician first sparked engagement speculation back in December 2025, after she attended the premiere of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” with a giant sparkler on her ring finger. Soon after, she confirmed the news in an interview with “Good Morning America.”
Cyrus, 33, and Morando, 27, first met after being set up on a blind date. They dated for four years before he proposed.
Inside Maxx Morando’s Proposal
Morando opened up about the proposal in a new interview with Wonderland magazine, explaining the two were in Kyoto, Japan at the time.
“For some reason – you’ll find this as crazy as I did – she’d never been to Japan before. Neither had I, and we’d both wanted to go for a really long time,” he shared. “There were talks before we went about me popping the question, but I was trying to keep it secret. She was not trying to keep it a secret, if you know what I mean.”
Because she was already expecting an engagement, Morando said he “had to be really sneaky about it.”
“I think she had a sense that it was coming, so I was waiting until the very last moment of the very last day to throw her off the scent as much as I could,” he shared, before explaining that he popped the question while the two were walking around the hotel grounds.
“There was this little outer garden that you had to cross a plank to get over. There was a sign that said you couldn’t cross; I was like, ‘That’s crazy, let’s go over there.’ She’s like, ‘No, it’s blocked,’” he detailed. “Eventually I persuaded her, and we walked in, and it was a little dead end, this beautiful Japanese forest-y situation. She was taking videos, and was turned away. That’s when I got on one knee and tapped her on the shoulder.”
He told the publication he was “sweating” and could feel his “heart pounding” moments before getting on one knee.
“You grow up as a kid watching the movies where the guy gets on one knee and does the whole thing, and you know that’s what you’re supposed to do. But then you realize, ‘Okay, I literally have to get on one knee,’” he continued. “I didn’t want to … fumble or drop the [ring].”
All went well, however, and she accepted the ring.
Speaking with GMA, Cyrus previously said Morando “did good” when it came to her sparkler. At the time, she added, “I am not easy to surprise because I love to control every situation, and I had completely surrendered. And I’m telling you, I was so, so surprised.”
How Miley and Maxx Met
Elsewhere in his interview with Wonderland, Morando also detailed how the two first met.
Per Maxx, Cyrus was friends with a bandmate’s sister. “They just put us on a blind date. Which, from Miley’s perspective, I don’t think is really possible, because she’s so in the public eye,” he told the outlet.
“So it felt like if there was a way to have a blind date for her, this might be the most blind date that she could do,” he said, the magazine explaining Morando wasn’t really on social media and is “unbothered” by pop culture. The date went well and they “just never stopped hanging out.”
He did admit that those early days were a bit “strange,” due to Cyrus’ life being so public.
“I’ve never experienced people waiting outside places for you and things like that. But as time’s gone on, now it’s kind of the inverse,” he added. “Whenever we go to some event, that’s when I am reminded that she is who she is, you know. But I love going with her to certain things to support whatever she’s doing.”
