While it’s nearly three years since the 30-year-old’s divorce from Hemsworth was finalized, it would appear that the Australian actor is still very much on her mind.

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when the singer took to social media on January 1 to announce that she was returning with a new single that would be released on January 13. Fans were quick to spot that that date also happens to be Hemsworth’s birthday.

Following the release of the track, listeners have been poring over the lyrics to try to find references to the failed marriage.

Several fans were quick to note how “Flowers” serves as a response of sorts to the Bruno Mars hit “When I Was Your Man.”

On the song, which was released in 2012, Mars sings of his regrets regarding a previous relationship:

By contrast, the lyrics of “Flowers” see Cyrus reject much of what Mars longs for in his song, preferring instead to celebrate strength and love in oneself:

The allusion to the song has sparked wild theories online, with one fan on TikTok writing that Hemsworth had dedicated Mars’ song to Cyrus after they got engaged.

Fans have so far been unable to confirm if these theories are correct. However, several listeners have spotted a nod to another familiar hit that may hint at Cyrus’s state of mind following the split.

British presenter Julia Ravey was among those to discover that “Flowers” also features a sample from the 1978 Gloria Gaynor hit “I Will Survive.”

The song, written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris, was originally inspired by the latter’s experience of getting fired as a staff writer from Motown Records and his determination to succeed in spite of this.

In the hands of Gaynor, the song became about the determination to bounce back from a failed relationship and would ultimately emerge as an LGBTQ anthem.

For Cyrus fans, its referencing serves as yet another message to Hemsworth. Ravey described the inclusion of “I Will Survive” on the track as “genius.”

“It’s so fitting for the entire theme of it,” she said in a video posted to TikTok that has been viewed more than 200,000 times.

Fellow TikToker luxxuryxx also spotted the reference to Gaynor’s song, describing it as a “near interpolation” and noting how both tracks serve as “break up empowerment songs.”

“The first four chords are identical,” he says on a video shared to the platform. “And there’s a string melody that comes in halfway through the chorus. It has a very similar melodic shape.”

He adds: “It’s hard not to think that the day they wrote ‘Flowers’ they were listening to the song and inspired by it.”

Another user, posting as thetaleofthewiseone, said they “immediately heard it,” adding “It has the same tempo and even takes the keyboard rift from ‘I Will Survive.’ Miley is smart.”

Elsewhere, Katrina Burgoyne was convinced the inclusion of the disco hit was intended as a “secret message to Liam Hemsworth.” To prove the similarities, she created a mash-up of the two tracks.

Another user @vanvan_4_life applied Cyrus’s vocals to the backing track for Gaynor’s song.

The approach drew widespread praise from Cyrus’ fanbase, with Ellamenophea describing the song as “a masterclass in artistic pettiness.”

Hemsworth has yet to respond to the speculation surrounding the song.

It’s being billed as the latest chapter in a saga that started in 2009 when Cyrus and Hemsworth officially began dating. An on-off relationship followed for much of the next three years before the couple got engaged in 2012, but eventually they split.

The couple became re-engaged in October 2016 and were married in December 2018. They separated in August 2019, with Hemsworth later filing for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was eventually finalized in January 2020, just over a year on from their nuptials in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hemsworth was in a relationship with Australian model Gabriella Brooks from 2019 to 2022, while Cyrus was most recently involved with Australian singer Cody Simpson.

Newsweek contacted Gloria Gaynor’s representatives for comment.