Miley Cyrus sheds light on a fear she says has been with her since childhood, a strong phobia of paper, and how her fiancé, Maxx Morando, helps her cope with it. The Flowers singer spoke openly about the issue during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday.
The beloved Hannah Montana star joked that one unexpected benefit of her engagement is that Morando handles all the cardboard recycling outside their home.
The singer explained her aversion while speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, saying, “I’m known as a little bit of a Grinch because I have a qualm with Christmas. I hate paper, like looking at that makes me want to vomit,” even gagging as she gestured toward Kimmel’s cue cards.
She went on to add, “The real problem for me with paper is when people have dry hands and they touch paper and then it’s Christmas and it’s cold and everyone’s hands are dry and they’re all touching paper.”
Cyrus shared that her fear has become so intense that she can’t bring herself to open letters from loved ones or read newspapers. “It’s a phobia,” she confirmed. “And I need help.”
She did note one exception: rolling papers. “That’s fine. First of all, my hands aren’t dry, okay?” she teased. “And neither are the papers, because I know you know you have to lick the paper.”
However, Cyrus admitted the issue is worsening. “There does need to be some sort of intervention and I am gonna look into some sort of EMDR, being hypnotized about it because it is affecting my everyday life,” she said. “Someone gets an Amazon box, I’m sick, because the cardboard is the worst of it all. It’s extra dry and there’s packaging within it.”
She then joked, “That’s the best part — that’s really why I got engaged because I just make my fiancé open all the packages outside.”
Jimmy Kimmel asked how the phobia might affect their future marriage, saying, "I think the first anniversary is paper or something, right?" Cyrus simply replied, “Uh-uh, not here.”
Kimmel then questioned whether she would even be able to sign their marriage certificate. Cyrus answered, “This is the thing, like waxed paper, anything that’s got a smooth surface, that’s better. And, from the last marriage [to Liam Hemsworth], I think I remember the paper is waxed.”
Cyrus also shared the childhood origins of her fear, explaining that her brothers “used to traumatize me” during long family drives from Nashville to Toronto. “Every weekend from Nashville, Tennessee, we would drive to Toronto, Canada, like 14 hours, and there’s five kids in the car and a German shepherd,” she said.
“So my mom would be driving and it would be complete chaos because all of us would fight for the entire 14 hours, and to really torture me, they would rub paper together while I was in the backseat.”
Despite her discomfort with paper, Cyrus said she still enjoys reading. “I was so happy when the Kindle was invented,” she said. “As long as they’re not dry. When I write my book, wax paper. And you can take one page out (and roll it) and I won’t be offended!”