While Miley Cyrus is busy Tik-Tok-ing, couples costuming and generally spamming your feed with new boyfriend Cody Simpson, her ex-girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter has written a revealing essay about their summer of love.
After both women split with their respective husbands earlier this year, the two embarked on a short-lived relationship marked by Lake Como cruises, flirty Instagram captions and post-breakup glow-ups.
âThis past July, I went on vacation with a female friend; the next thing I knew, I was in love with her,â Carter writes in an essay for Elle published on Monday. âIt wasnât quite that simple, of course. But it also wasnât very complicated, either.â
âUntil that trip, it had never crossed my mind that I was even capable of loving a woman the way I loved her,â she continues. âBut after reflecting on my romantic history, I realized that Iâve never really had a âtype.ââ
Cyrusâ name is never used in the essay, but Carter explains that while she and her friend were âtrying to move past our respective break-ups,â her âfirst and only romance with a woman was born.â
âThe Hills: New Beginningsâ star goes on to reveal that their connection not only made her question her sexuality, but also the pressure to label something when it just feels âexactly right.â
âI fell just as hard for her as I had the older man so many years before. It was that same familiar force of nature; I didnât have to think about a thing or overanalyze,â Carter writes. âIt just happened and it felt exactly right. Reflecting back on our three-year friendship, I realized Iâd always been drawn to her in a way I wasnât with other friends, but until that trip it had never crossed my mind to think of her in a romantic sense.â
Cyrus and Carter reportedly split in September after less than two months of dating. Multiple outlets, as well as their own Instagram flirting, however, indicated that the two were still on good terms.
Cyrus, who has yet to publicly address the essay, has since moved on with Simpson, an Australian singer and model she started dating in October.
Carter doesnât reveal exactly why she and the âHannah Montanaâ alum went their separate ways, only remarking that their romance was âshort-lived,â but writes that she remains âeternally grateful to my most recent relationship for opening my eyes to this unexplored part of myself.â
She does, however, take issue with the media coverage that described their experience together as âmerely a âsummer flingâ or a âsame-sex affair,ââ as it became a defining chapter in her life.
The reality star concludes the essay by encouraging others to discover âwho exactly their most authentic selves are, untethered from what we may have been taught to believe.â
And as for her own future, Carter isnât ready to commit to any one label â or any one person â for the time being, despite what other people may think.
âI still donât feel like Iâm in a place to label my sexuality one way or another, but Iâm okay with that,â she writes. âItâs something Iâm still exploring and figuring out. Itâs been interesting to watch friends and strangers alike assume Iâll automatically revert to being attracted to men, as if theyâre more familiar with my sexuality than I am. Even I donât entirely understand what my experience this summer means for me going forward â and itâs my experience.
To read Carterâs full essay, head over to Elle.