Miley Cyrus reveals she dated Dylan Sprouse in surprising confession

In the good ol' days of Disney Channel, there was nothing fans loved more than 'shipping' their favourite stars.

Rumours that High School Musical leads Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron were dating IRL kept fans in a chokehold for yonks, and the crowd went wild when Camp Rock co-stars Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas went public with their romance.

Apparently, however, another teen power-couple existed that we all missed at the time - Miley Cyrus and Dylan Sprouse.

Speaking to presenter Alex Cooper this week during a TV special celebrating 20 years since she starred as Hannah Montana on Disney Channel, Cyrus, 33, opened up on her and Sprouse's secret relationship.

"Secretly, OK, Dylan Sprouse was my boyfriend," the Grammy-winner teased. "I think he was the cutest. Dylan was my crush."

Cyrus and Sprouse [left] dated as kids (Chris Polk/WireImage)

Sprouse, also 33, was a titular star of The Suite Life of Zac and Cody at the time, alongside twin brother, Cole.

The twins crossed on-screen paths with Cyrus once for a crossover episode of The Suite Life, That's So Raven, and Hannah Montana.

The three-part instalment - titled That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana - aired in 2006, when the pair would have been around 14.

Reflecting on their behind-the-scenes romance, Cyrus continued during the special episode, which aired on Disney+ on 24 March: "Their dad would take us to sushi. I was into the whole culture, and it was a two-for-one.

"Like, bring the brother. Hello!"

Sprouse - who has been married to Hungarian model and actress Barbara Palvin since 2023 - wasn't the only 'crush' Cyrus encountered during her youth.

Cyrus also discussed her crush on Mitchel Musso (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Also during the anniversary show, the 'Flowers' hit-maker claimed she'd also ditched her hometown beau, a boy named Jeff, in Nashville after learning she'd first been cast on Hannah Montana in 2006.

By then, she had her eyes set on her future cast mate, Mitchel Musso, who played Oliver in the double-identity Disney drama.

Cyrus admitted: "I thought Mitchel Musso was really cute. So I was like, 'OK, bye, Jeff.' It's all about Mitchell now.

"I was like, 'Great! Crush. I'm good now. I'm set up.'"

Neither Sprouse nor Musso was a match, however, and Cyrus went on to wed her Last Song co-star, Liam Hemsworth, in the years that followed.

During a brief split, the child star briefly dated both Patrick Schwarzenegger and Stella Maxwell before rekindling with the Aussie hunk.

Cyrus has been in a relationship with Morando since 2021 (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

By 2020, though, she and Hemsworth had split for good, having their divorce finalised.

Since then, Cyrus has been in a loved-up relationship with musician Maxx Morando, with the couple going public in 2021.

It was reported back in December that the pair had gotten engaged.