The Reason Miley Cyrus Doesn't Want To Have Kids

Miley Cyrus has been one of America's most recognizable singers and actors ever since the advent of her career in the early 2000s. Although she rose to fame as a teen idol in Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" from 2006 to 2011, she has continued to maintain a successful career as a singer and performer, even appearing on Billboard's "Greatest of All Time Artists Chart" in 2019. 

However, given Cyrus' impact on millennial and youth culture, her personal life has also been a subject of great interest. This fascination was boosted in no small part by her high-profile marriage to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth — which only lasted one year until their divorce in 2020 — in addition to her intense activism for the LGBTQ+ community, of which she is a member. However, despite interest in her personal and love life, Cyrus has been open about the fact that she does not want to have children. And unlike many other celebrities who have decided to remain childfree to focus on their careers, Cyrus' reasons for doing so are much more personal and heartfelt. 

In a July 2019 interview with Elle, Miley Cyrus opened up about her feelings on having children, revealing that she scorned the idea that women's primary purpose on the planet is to have children. "We're expected to keep the planet populated. And when that isn't a part of our plan or our purpose, there is so much judgment and anger that they try to make and change laws to force it upon you," Cyrus said. In addition, reflecting many peoples' fears on the worsening climate crisis, Cyrus added that she did not want to have children because of the planet she would be handing them. "We're getting handed a piece-of-s*** planet, and I refuse to hand that down to my child," she explained. "Until I feel like my kid would live on an earth with fish in the water, I'm not bringing in another person to deal with that. "

Cyrus is not the first person (or celebrity) to express this sentiment. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of people and celebrities who have chosen not to have children because of climate change. Some celebs are opting to live a child-free life because they believe it is unethical to introduce a person into such an environment, considering having children significantly increases one's carbon footprint. Among other celebrities who have expressed this sentiment are Leonardo DiCaprio and U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Miley Cyrus wasn't always opposed to having children. In May 2019, during her marriage to Liam Hemsworth marriage — around the time of Cyrus' Elle interview —  Hemsworth was intent on having children, jokingly telling GQ Australia that he wanted "10, 15, maybe 20" of them. However, he was not in a rush, telling the outlet that he would like them "one day, once we don't have so many dogs. You couldn't bring a baby into our house right now. But one day, we'll know when it's right." Of course, Cyrus and Hemsworth would divorce the following year.

As fans of Cyrus are aware, the longtime entertainer has a big family: She is the second of four children to her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and the third of her mother's five children. Perhaps as a result of that, Cyrus used to fantasize about having children. In 2012, after Cyrus and Hemsworth first got engaged, a source close to the singer told Hollywood Life that, while she was in no rush to get pregnant, she "really want[ed] a bunch of kids." However, the source also said that "it might be a little while after marriage for her to start because she really loves her body and wants to spend some time being the 'Hot Wife.'" Of course, in the years since, her attitude on the subject seems to have changed.