Miley opens up about split from fiancé Liam Hemsworth

The last time Miley Cyrus was on Ellen in November 2012, the host threw her an engagement party. When Ellen DeGeneres brings up the topic on Friday's episode, a recently single Cyrus asks her if she wants her money back. She does.

"I should have kept one of those dude's numbers," Cyrus says of the strippers DeGeneres got for her on the previous show. "It would have come in handy."

Cyrus breaches the topic of her September breakup with fiancé Liam Hemsworth, whom she had been dating since 2009 when they met on the set of their movie, The Last Song.

In what could have been a really awkward interview, a well-spoken, self-aware Cyrus chatted about her split.

"People spend more time thinking about it than I really do," she told DeGeneres. "I believe when a chapter is done, you have to close it and start that new one."

Cyrus, who's been busy twerking and rapping and making headlines, says she hasn't wasted any time dwelling on the breakup. "I have so much to be thankful for at this time that my energy hasn't really been focused on that."

And she's "impressed" that other people have been able to pay attention more to her music than her relationship. "They've actually shown more respect. I don't really look up anything, so maybe they haven't been showing respect. But from what I've seen, people have actually focused on my music right now when I've needed them to."

Cyrus admitted that her new album, Bangerz, is a story of the crumbling relationship. "I think it says that with starting with Adore You and ending with Someone Else. I feel like you can find this arch of growth. ... I think I knew more intuitively where my life was going than what I actually thought I did at the time."

When DeGeneres asks if she's had any contact with Hemsworth, Cyrus expertly dodges the question: "For me, I haven't really gotten to see anyone" because of her busy schedule. "I'm letting that chapter close."

And the star says she's enjoying her newfound alone time. "I really am genuinely happy … finally with myself, which I think sometimes it takes separating yourself from someone else to really be happy with who you are," she says, adding, "I've never been able to be alone, and I'm obsessed with being alone and hearing my thoughts."