Miley reveals her first relationship was with a chick

Miley Cyrus has revealed she's struggled with her sexuality identity for most of her life and that her first romantic relationship was with a girl.

The 23-year-old, who is engaged to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, opened up to Variety starting to explore her sexuality in the early stages of her life.

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"My whole life, I didn't understand my own gender and my own sexuality," she told the publication.

The actress and singer added that it was around the time she was cast in Disney's Hannah Montana, at age 11, that she her eyes "started opening".

"My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick," Miley said.

"I always hated the word 'bisexual,' because that's even putting me in a box. I don't ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl."

Miley also told the magazine that it wasn't until a visit to a LGBTQ center in Los Angeles that she was able to put a "label" on herself.

"I saw one human in particular who didn't identify as male or female," she recounted.

"Looking at them, they were both: beautiful and sexy and tough but vulnerable and feminine but masculine. And I related to that person more than I related to anyone in my life."

Miley now identifies as Pansexual and now has charity foundation, Happy Hippie, that helps homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth.

The Voice judge admitted that her struggles with her sexual and gender identity were compounded by the fact she was raised in a very religious Southern family and it hasn't been until recently she has felt like her mother Tish has finally understood her.

"On The Voice, this young girl started crying when she left, because I'm the reason she came out."

"My mom started crying. She was like, 'I'm so sorry about the way I was when you were that age and coming out.' She never understood me until she saw that girl who couldn't be herself. It was very cool."

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