Miley Cyrus dishes on her Disney crushes, Selena Gomez makes a surprise appearance, plus more revelations from the anniversary special

Where has the time gone?! On Tuesday, Disney+ launched its extremely anticipated Hannah Montana twentieth Anniversary Specialcelebrating twenty years since the hit sequence premiered. Spearheaded by Miley Cyrus, who famously performed the dual-life-living pop star, the special is stuffed with nostalgia-inducing moments that instantly transport fans back to their childhood.

Cyrus hasn’t shied away from declaring her love for Hannah Montana. The 33-year-old singer is fortunately embracing her wig-wearing alter ego, and he or she’s doing so in a manner that feels comfy for her. During the special, Cyrus is in dialog with Call Her Daddy podcaster Alex Cooper, and the duo discusses an array of Hannah Montana-related subjects — like that one time Cyrus frolicked with the “coolest” Disney children.

Fans may also sit up for Cyrus’s brand-new ballad “Younger You,” which she performs at the finish of the special.

“It’s been an honor to celebrate 20 years of Hannah Montana“,” Cyrus said while performing the track. “And I’ve looked back at every memory with a heart full of love. “Hannah, she gave me my start, but my fans gave me this life.”

Below, Yahoo has rounded up 5 takeaways from the nostalgic special.

Cyrus dishes on her romance with Dylan Sprouse

Did we know this?! When Cooper asked Cyrus which Disney boy she had a crush on at the time, the 33-year-old paused before revealing a past relationship that somehow went totally under the radar.

“Dylan Sprouse was my boyfriend,” Cyrus said. “I thought he was the cutest.” When Cooper asked if their relationship was public knowledge, Cyrus responded, “I feel perhaps it was rumored, but it surely’s true. Confirmed! Dylan was my crush.”

Sprouse famously starred on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody with his twin brother, Cole Sprouse, from 2005 to 2008, while Hannah Montana was emerging in popularity.

Cyrus quipped, “And it was a two-for-one! Like, deliver the brother!”

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron have been ‘the coolest children ever’

Back in the day, the Disney Channel was brimming with original content — and teen stars to idolize. Even with her Hannah Montana fame, Cyrus wasn’t immune to getting starstruck, which is exactly what happened when she met High School Musical stars (and then-real-life couple) Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron in 2006.

“We all went to New York to do promotion, and it was right as High School Musical came out, so Vanessa and Zac were so famous,” Cyrus said. “They were like, the coolest kids ever. High School Musical It was so big and they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and they were everything. And they loved me because I was mature for my age.”

Cyrus recalled a moment when Hudgens and Efron asked if she wanted to join them in their car, to which the Hannah Montana star enthusiastically said yes.

“They have been like, ‘Hey, after we’re doing press, we may choose you up if you’d like.’ I used to be like, ‘Yeah.’ So then they picked me up, and I received to go in, like, a black automotive with Vanessa and Zac, and roll as much as the upfronts,” she mentioned, referring to the Disney Upfronts presentation. “That was a prime time of like Disney and those shows.”

Taylor Swift wrote ‘You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home’

Before her many musical eras, there as soon as was a time when Taylor Swift was simply a country-singing gal! Swift famously performed her track “Crazier” in a barn throughout the fundraising scene in 2009’s Hannah Montana: The Movie. Swift, who was 19 at the time, was apparently featured in the movie to deliver a actual nation vibe.

“This was kind of the beginning of her career, and they were looking for someone who would authentically, no shade, I guess, be performing in a barn,” Cyrus mentioned of Swift. “We each carried out in the barn. And so she got here into the efficiency, and he or she had written a music for Hannah Montana perhaps even two. But she truly wrote the finale song ‘You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.’ “Credit where credit’s due.”

Cyrus known as Swift’s observe a “banger” earlier than including, “She ate with that one.”

Cyrus and Selena Gomez ‘make amends’ on Disney set

Selena Gomez is Disney royalty in her own right — but before she found fame as Alex Russo on The Wizards of Waverly Place, she guest-starred on Hannah Montana. Gomez played Hannah Montana’s pop star rival, Mikayla, who was known for her quippy (and catty) comebacks. Looking back the way their characters hurled insults like “lip-syncher” and “bra-stuffer” at one another, Cyrus called their behavior “vicious.” Gomez agreed and added apologetically, “I do not assume they’d get away with saying half that stuff. I used to be so imply. I’m sorry.” Cyrus assured Gomez that everything’s all good: “We can make amends now.”

Gomez then congratulated Cyrus on her Hannah Montana success.

“You created culture, babe,” Gomez said. Cyrus replied, “You too.”

Cyrus told Gomez as they walked off the set together, “It’s actually candy to know somebody for like 20 years. That means I’ve recognized you for nearly 20 years.”

For diehard millennial followers, it is a well-known rumor that Cyrus and Gomez weren’t at all times on the better of phrases throughout their days of Disney superstardom. Both Cyrus and Gomez have been believed to be embroiled in a love triangle with Jonas Brothers heartthrob, Nick Jonas, in the mid-aughts. Cyrus dated Jonas from 2006 to 2007, and followers affectionately referred to the duo as “Niley,” whereas Gomez was linked to Jonas from 2008 to 2010.

But all appears to be well between Cyrus and Gomez as of late. The duo has continued to assist each other publicly, and so they even reunited throughout the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.

Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso skip the reunion

Two important Hannah Montana stars were noticeably absent from the anniversary special: Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso, who played Miley’s best friends Lily and Oliver on the show. Osment was unable to appear on the special due to scheduling conflicts, as she’s currently filming her new CBS series, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. It’s unclear why Musso didn’t attend.

Although she couldn’t be part of the celebration, Osment shared her gratitude for Hannah Montana in a heartfelt Instagram reel.

“Hannah Montana changed my life, it gave me a lifelong respect for this medium of comedy, it taught me discipline, patience, timing and respect working in an adult space so young,” Osment wrote on Instagram. “I can’t tell you what your sweet messages mean to me and how lucky I feel to have been apart of this once in a generation goliath of a television show. Thank you for letting me into your living rooms and I hope to still be there many years from now.”

Musso, in the meantime, shared his personal assertion on Instagramreminiscing about the present’s legacy and the reminiscences he made on set.

“Hannah Montana wrapped around my heart and never really let go,” Musso wrote. “We literally grew up with y’all — long days, crazy schedules, learning lines, cracking up between takes, and figuring out life while the cameras rolled. “It taught me so many wonderful values, but the most important ‘to me’ is that laughter can get you through the tough days.”

Despite their absences, Cyrus had nothing but kind words to share about her costs.

“I think the first [people] I ever met [were] Lily and Oliver. Mitchel and Emily,” Cyrus told Cooper. “They were experienced actors, so I was just figuring out how I was going to kind of like fit into a cast that they knew exactly what they were doing.”

In addition to admitting that she found Musso “really cute” when she first met him, Cyrus mentioned she felt like she had discovered a teammate in Osment.

“I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, and I knew that we were going to have each other’s backs when it came to our timing, to our scenes, to rehearsing,” she mentioned.