Miley Cyrus 'Had to Change' to Be with Liam Hemsworth — 'She Wants to Be True to Herself': Source

Miley Cyrus is focusing on herself amid her messy split.

The pop star, 26, and husband Liam Hemsworth, 29, broke up months ago, before she announced their separation Aug. 10. And an insider says Cyrus struggled with her identity amid her relationship with the Australian actor, who filed for divorce on Wednesday.

“She just got to the point where she didn’t want to hold back about who she is. She wants to be true to herself. Being with Liam, this was just not possible,” the Cyrus insider says. “For them to be happy, she had to change as a person too much. She knows not being with Liam will make her happier in the long run.”

On Wednesday, PEOPLE confirmed Hemsworth filed for divorce in Los Angeles, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Despite their separation, the move was a surprise for Cyrus, who has been linked to longtime friend and new flame Kaitlynn Carter in recent weeks.

“She didn’t expect it and is a bit disappointed, but she is still doing well and has obviously moved on as well,” the insider says. “What she and Liam had for a long time was very special. It’s just hard for her to think that she will never have this again with Liam. There are really so many things that she loves about him.”

Cyrus and Hemsworth met when they were teenagers on the set of The Last Song in 2009. They dated on and off for nearly 10 years before they got married in December 2018 at home in Franklin, Tennessee.

The pair appeared happier than ever after they tied the knot, but tension built behind closed doors, as multiple sources tell PEOPLE the couple clashed over Cyrus’s unconventional views of marriage and Hemsworth’s partying

“As sad as it sounds, no one ever believed they would live happily ever after,” a source told PEOPLE following the breakup. “Especially for Miley, she really had to make a lot of changes to be with Liam, and it was almost like she needed to be a different person to be in a relationship with him.”