Cody Simpson: Why I ended it with Miley

Partying and high-profile dating have given way to a passion of a different kind, tells Cody Simpson in a Stellar exclusive.

How do you know that Cody Simpson has grown up? Because, the 25-year-old says, he’s dealt with his issues and learnt to say no. The pop idol, who hit it big at 13, now has 4.3 million Instagram followers and once dated the likes of Gigi Hadid and Miley Cyrus, tells Stellar that while making music still keeps him grounded, there are other goals in sight (hello, 2024 Olympics) that matter more.

You’re about to release your first album in seven years, a self-titled project that’s out this Friday. The single ‘Let Go’ is already out. Is there a particular person or relationship you’re referring to?

I wrote it more recently and I’ve been in and out of a couple of relationships in the past two or three years, so [it’s] sort of playing off that.

It was also moving into my life as an athlete, too – as a swimmer having to make compromises and sacrifices to be able to do that properly. It’s something that not everyone gets, and that was part of the reason I had to end my past two previous relationships.

The first one with Miley [Cyrus], I’d just started training towards the end of our relationship and it put me on a path where I realised I was going to go back to Australia if I was going to do it properly. I saw all these realisations that maybe it’s time to turn the page in a chapter.

And with my recent ex [model Marloes Stevens], it was one of those things, too, where it can be difficult to maintain a personal relationship when you just don’t have time, and any time you’re not training, you just want to be in bed asleep.

Cody Simpson: “it can be difficult to maintain a personal relationship when you just don’t have time.” Picture: Jamie Green

Cody Simpson: “I was trying to find myself.” Picture: Jamie Green.

If you look at the new album as a body of work, what does it say about you?

It’s exactly the sonic musical representation of myself that I wanted to share. Sound-wise, it’s a definitive musical statement from me that involves and incorporates everything that I wanted it to sound like. I’m just so stoked.

That’s why I have self-titled it; I’ve never done that before. A lot of people do it on their first album and I’ve done it on my fourth.

In a way, it’s my first adult record and feels like a coming of age – like a first, in a way.

From the outside looking in, you’ve changed a lot in 12 years and you appear to have been through some stuff. What has that journey been like?

It was a heavy personal journey where I had a love-hate relationship with the whole thing.

A part of me was super lost for a minute and I was just covering that up, going out and being among people, dating people, and going out partying and all of that stuff.

I don’t regret a day of it, obviously, because it brought me into who I am now, but it was a real journey coming through that. I learnt a lot from it and I’m much wiser for it now.

I certainly feel like a different person to, say, five years ago, and a whole lot clearer, well-defined, well-rounded and sure of myself. I was trying to find myself.

Having no regrets is a beautiful thing, right? I think what has put me at peace now is that I care a lot less about things I used to care about – being attached to the idea of being known and being a celebrity and being all of these things I probably cared about for a while – and it’s quite nice.

I don’t really prioritise that anymore, and I think swimming has done that for me, too, because I have this whole other thing that’s more important to me.

Cody Simpson: That’s the dream. I want to be an Olympian.” Picture: @codysimpson

Cody Simpson and Miley Cyrus. Picture: Instagram

What does success mean to you now, specifically with this new album?

I felt successful as soon as I’d made it. That’s how I’m feeling about music in general and the way I feel about a lot of artists who I listen to personally.

If it’s great stuff, it will be heard and passed around and listened to and enjoyed for however long. Whether or not it does this or that, or if it’s played on this or that, I’m not too fussed.

A couple of years ago, you said you were just going to focus on swimming and not your music. Now you say you can do both. Is swimming at the Paris Olympics in 2024 a realistic dream?

That’s the dream. I want to be an Olympian.

I’m coming up on two years into what I’ve said would be a four-year journey, so we’re almost halfway there, and the progress we’ve made is pretty nuts during that amount of time. If I keep going this way, I hope I can make that team.

How do you juggle both music and swimming then?

At first I was like, I’m not going to touch music for this time… that I couldn’t afford distractions. And then, as I got into the rhythm and flow of it, I realised it was this other stuff that takes my mind off things; the tedium and the pressure of training and all that stuff.

At times, I do have to regulate myself schedule-wise and I have to make sure I’m not doing anything that cuts into training time, and that can be a struggle, but I’m coming to terms with it and managing my expectations knowing that it’s a side hustle, in a way, for me.

Cody Simpson features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

It’s a clichéd question, but one that fits perfectly here: what would you say to your 13-year-old self, knowing what you know now?

A lot of people would tell their younger self not to worry so much or to trust the process, but I wasn’t worried at that age. I was quite stoked at everything going on, just riding that roller-coaster.

But I had a lot of decisions made for me, instead of with me, for many years. Saying no is something I’ve learnt how to do in the past year of my life. I didn’t really know how to do it before, and always felt guilty about it because I didn’t want to upset anyone or let them down or make them feel I’m not committed.

Cody Simpson’s new album is out this Friday.