Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus got engaged in 2012. Then, Nick Jonas wrote a song.

Before we were dancing in our underwear to Miley Cyrus' new banger break-up anthem, Flowers (surely it's not just me?) and dissecting all the clues that it references her decade-long on and off relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, there was Niley.

For those of a certain age, Niley needs no explanation.

The term is the couple name of Nick Jonas and Cyrus, who dated from June 2006 to December 2007, beginning when they were each just 13 years old. 

The relationship lasted about 18 months, but lived on much longer in songs, interviews and of course, the relentless gossip of teenagers. 

Watch: Miley's latest video, for 'Flowers'. Post continues below video.

At the time, Cyrus and Jonas were both Disney Channel royalty, and their relationship played a major role in informing that era of teen celebrity.

For a number of years, young fans wondered about the possibility of a reunion, watched as the exes continued to interact during events for the Mouse, and speculated about the rumoured 'love triangle' involving Selena Gomez.

Famously, Cyrus moved on for good after meeting Hemsworth on the set of their film The Last Song. 

They dated for three years before getting engaged in mid-2012, when she was 19 and he was 22.

Four months later, during an October 2012 Jonas Brothers concert, Jonas played something no one had ever heard before.

It was a song called 'Wedding Bells', where he recalled how he felt when Cyrus told him about her nuptial plans.

Its chorus featured the lyrics: "No, I don't wanna love if it's not you, I don't wanna hear the wedding bells prove, that we can't try one last time".

Assuming it to be about Cyrus was a pretty easy bow to draw, but Jonas made it even more obvious with a reference to June 11, the date they met for the very first time in 2006.

"You have to write a song and apologise for it later," he told a New York crowd about the song. 

"I don't know that I've ever written a song that makes me as uncomfortable as this song does... and although it's not the way I feel at this moment in time, hopefully this gives you a glimpse into what that experience was like for me."

Image: Getty.

 A week after it was first performed, Cyrus addressed 'Wedding Bells' during an interview with Ryan Seacrest.

"I don't know who else is getting married... so I feel like that's pretty blatant," she said.

"Like I said, everyone has to write songs that are about things that they felt and he even introduced that this isn't the way that I am. So, you can't ever hate on someone for writing about something you've been through. I think that you kind of get a fair warning when you date an artist and someone that's a writer. When you're going through things that you're going to end up hearing about it on the radio."

Here's hoping Liam Hemsworth is feeling the same way, because radio stations are blasting 'Flowers' multiple times an hour.

'Wedding Bells' was intended for a Jonas Brothers album that never came to fruition because the band broke up, and Cyrus and Hemsworth never made it down the aisle that time around. 

The song is not available on streaming services like Spotify, but you can find it on YouTube.

Naturally, it instantly became a huge part of 'Niley' lore.

The uncomfortable honesty displayed in the song wasn't exactly an unexpected move from Jonas, as he and Cyrus had spent years going back and forth via their music.

In 2008, Cyrus had blown the minds of teenagers everywhere when she released '7 Things' aged 15, about the anger she felt after their breakup. 

Image: YouTube/Hollywood Records.

In the music video, Cyrus wore a dog tag necklace Jonas was known for and held up a photo of herself and Jonas, with his face scribbled over. Meanwhile, teenage girls clutched props like love letters, teddy bears and snow globes, inspired by real items Jonas had gifted her during their relationship.

Other songs released during these years, and believed to be about each other, include Cyrus' 'Goodbye' and most of the Jonas Brothers' first couple of albums, including 'Lovebug'.

In 2009, the exes even got together to write and record a duet called 'Before The Storm', about their relationship and break-up, for the JoBro's third album Lines, Vines and Trying Times. And once again the minds of teenagers everywhere were blown.

This was all a long time ago, and thankfully all has been well in the world of Niley in the preceding years.

Jonas married Priyanka Chopra in 2018 and Cyrus has been dating drummer Maxx Morando since 2021, but the exes have remained friendly.

In 2017, during an interview about the most Googled search terms relating to him, Jonas confirmed that 'Wedding Bells' was about Cyrus (duh).

In March 2019, after sharing throwback content on Instagram, Cyrus posted "That moment when even your ex knows your socials have been [fire emojis]", alongside a screenshot of DMs between her and Jonas joking about a pic of young Cyrus wearing a JoBro t-shirt.

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A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus)

In June 2021, to mark the 13th anniversary of '7 Things', Cyrus shared a carousel of images and videos from the time, including the music video image of her and Jonas' photo, and tagged him in the post.

Somehow, we don't imagine Hemsworth will get a 'Flowers' throwback tag in another decade.

Feature image: Getty/Mamamia.

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