How Miley Cyrus Found ‘Balance’ in Her Career After It Was a ‘Machine’ and ‘Running Her Life’ for Years: Source (Exclusive)

Miley Cyrus is finding balance in her career.

A source tells PEOPLE that the “Flowers” singer is “doing really, really well and is in a really good place.”

“She’s figured out how to balance her career so that it’s not running her life. It was a machine for so long, and that’s the last thing she wants,” the insider said, adding that Cyrus is “passionate about what she puts out and everything is super personal to her.”

Cyrus, 32, grew up as a child star on Hannah Montana. The wholesome television show kept her focused on being Hannah which Cyrus called an “identity crisis” while on Spotify’s Rock This with Allison Hagendorf podcast in March 2021.

“You’ve got, like, millions of fans, you’re the biggest star in the world, and then the concept was that when I looked like myself, when I didn’t have the wig on anymore, no one cared about me, I wasn’t a star anymore,” she said elsewhere in the podcast.

Cyrus said she “really had to break” that mentality. “I think that’s maybe why I almost created a characterized version of myself at times,” she added. “I never created a character where it wasn’t me, but I was aware of how people saw me and I maybe played into it a little bit.”

Following her Disney Channel days, Cyrus marked her transition into more grown-up content with her album Can’t Be Tamed in 2010 before launching into the adult part of her career and working on projects she is enthusiastic about.

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Now, she’s working on new music — and has a special collaborator this time around: boyfriend Maxx Morando. “Miley has a great life with Maxx,” a second insider previously told PEOPLE. “They’re very in sync. He calms her down. She thrives with him.”

The source added that Cyrus has been working on new music and that Morando, 26, “has been involved too.” “Miley enjoys working with him. She finds him talented and inspiring. They have a lot of fun together.”

The pair began dating in December 2021 after they were spotted getting cozy during her television special Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party.

Cyrus and Morando previously collaborated on two tracks from her 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation. She notably thanked Morando in her acceptance speech after “Flowers” won record of the year at the 2024 Grammys, calling him “my love.”