Miley Cyrus' provocative and heavily sexual performance at the 2013 Video Music Awards on Aug. 25 was her way of reacting to recent fights she had with her fiancé Liam Hemsworth, a source told Hollywood Life.

The couple, who have been engaged since summer 2012, reportedly had a big fight the day of the VMAs and Cyrus' was so upset about the dispute that she took it all out on stage, the source said. Her performance at the awards ceremony was even crazier than originally planned because the 20-year-old was fueled by emotions.

See photos here from the VMA performance

The insider said that when the former Disney star fights with the Paranoia actor, 23, she acts out and gets rebellious, which came out on stage Sunday, though she is not sorry about her performance. Her twerking on stage and raunchy set alongside Robin Thicke made headlines - and that was her goal, according to the insider. Cyrus warned Hemsworth that the show was going to be wild and that is why he did not attend the VMAs, the report noted.

Liam Reacts to Miley's 2013 VMA Performance [REPORT]

Many stars were not impressed by Cyrus' on-stage act. When asked which VMA performance was the best, none of the celebrities Enstars spoke with chose Cyrus. Kelly Clarkson expressed her disdain by tweeting, "Just saw a couple performances from the VMA's last night. 2 words.... #pitchystrippers" The Bachelor winner Catherine Giudice said she thought she was watching a wardrobe malfunction take place on stage and Robin Thicke's mother said, "I just keep thinking of her mother and father watching this. Oh, Lord, have mercy."

Miley Cyrus VMA Performance Twitter & Facebook Disses by Fans 

Regardless of the negative feedback, Cyrus was proud of the media attention her VMA performance received. She tweeted on Aug. 25, "Smilers! My VMA performance had 306.000 tweets per minute. That's more than the blackout or Superbowl! #fact." She also quoted a line from a Rolling Stone article that praised her performance, saying, "Miley was the one star in the room who truly understood what the MTV Video Music Awards are all about!"

Tags: Miley Cyrus Liam Hemsworth video music awards