Miley Cyrus has felt "free" since splitting from Liam Hemsworth.

She said: "When I went through a really intense breakup - you know, I was engaged - and when I was with him or when I was on Disney, the thing that gave me the most anxiety was not knowing what to do with myself when Disney wasn't there to carry me any more or if I didn't have him. And now I'm free of both of those things, and I'm fine.

"Like I lay in bed at night by myself and I'm totally OK, and that's so much stronger than the person three years ago, who would have thought they would have died if they didn't have a boyfriend."

The former 'Hannah Montana' star has admitted that although she often wished she could have started her solo career without being known as a Disney actress, she is "thankful" of what it's helped her achieve and is glad it didn't make her "crazy".

She told the latest issue of Elle magazine: "I got the most intense training. There's times where I wish I could have just started as a new artist, but the world has kind of allowed me to do that. I feel really lucky - a lot of kid stars get all crazy or stuck in what they were, so they can't actually become what they're meant to be."