Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth Split After Less Than a Year of Marriage: 'This Is What's Best'

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have called it quits less than a year after tying the knot.

"Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time," a rep for Cyrus tells PEOPLE in a statement. "Ever-evolving, changing as partners and individuals, they have decided this is what's best while they both focus on themselves and careers. They still remain dedicated parents to all of their animals they share while lovingly taking this time apart. Please respect their process and privacy."

Rumors of a split between Cyrus, 26, and Hemsworth, 29, began on Saturday, after the "Mother's Daughter" singer posted a since-deleted photo of herself on Instagram in which she was not wearing her wedding ring.

"Mute me if you don't want SPAMMED," she captioned the post, which featured Cyrus sitting in a chair while wearing a black bustier top with a matching pair of black pants.

Although Cyrus is not wearing her wedding ring in the image, she is wearing multiple bracelets and necklaces.

In response to the image, her older sister Brandi Cyrus commented, "Boooooooooooooom!"

The photo was taken while Cyrus vacationed with Brody Jenner's ex Kaitlynn Carter in Italy — a trip which took place just one week after PEOPLE confirmed Carter's split from Jenner after a year of marriage.

On Friday, Carter posted a photo of the pair joined by two friends while sailing around Lake Como. She later posted a snap of the pair wearing sexy swimsuits.

While Carter wrote in the caption, "rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby ⚓️," her ex Jenner, 35, commented, "Hot girl summer 🔥."

Earlier this summer, Cyrus opened up about how she doesn't "fit into a stereotypical wife role."

"I think it's very confusing to people that I'm married. But my relationship is unique," Cyrus told Elle for its August 2019 cover story, adding that the details of their love life are something she chooses to keep private.

"I don't know that I would ever publicly allow people in there because it's so complex, and modern, and new that I don't think we're in a place where people would get it," she said. "I mean, do people really think that I'm at home in a f—ing apron cooking dinner? I'm in a hetero relationship, but I still am very sexually attracted to women."

Cyrus added: "People become vegetarian for health reasons, but bacon is still f–ing good, and I know that. I made a partner decision. This is the person I feel has my back the most. I definitely don't fit into a stereotypical wife role. I don't even like that word."

RELATED VIDEO: How Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth Reconciled After Being Torn Apart by Hollywood: Sources

Cyrus and Hemsworth, who met in 2009 on the set of Nicholas Sparks' romantic drama The Last Song, had a rocky, on-again, off-again relationship for years before he proposed in 2012.

The two ended their engagement and broke up a year later, before reconciling in 2015.

While Cyrus and Hemsworth were committed to each other for years, neither were too concerned about actually tying the knot. But that all changed in December 2018 when they wed during an intimate ceremony at their home in Franklin, Tennessee.

After facing the unthinkable when their beloved Malibu home burned down the previous months during the California wildfires, the couple became closer than ever.

"The timing for their wedding makes perfect sense. They, like many others, endured a painful loss which deepened their bond," a friend of the singer told PEOPLE after the pair got married.

"They don't have doubts about their relationship," a Cyrus source added. "They both wanted to get married. They have both matured a lot, and it seemed like the perfect time for them to get married."