YouTuber Tana Mongeau Denies Dating Noah Cyrus: 'I Just Like to Spend Time with Her'

Tana Mongeau is setting the record straight about her relationship with Noah Cyrus.

Earlier this month, the YouTube star, 21, sparked romance rumors when she referred to Miley Cyrus‘ 19-year-old sister as her “girlfriend” in a video. But on Friday, Mongeau told Entertainment Tonight at the 2019 YouTube Steamy Awards in Los Angeles that they’re not dating.

“To be real, I think that I might have started the girlfriend stuff with some YouTube title,” Mongeau said, before gushing over her friend.

“I just love being around Noah,” she said. “There’s something about her, even before I knew her, that has always inspired me. She’s so real, she’s so raw. The way she turns her emotions into art and cares about mental health and was born into this life, but turns it into something beautiful, is so inspiring to me. And I love to kick it with her.”

Mongeau confirmed that “there is no tea” when it comes to her and Cyrus’ relationship: “Like, that is the tea on that. I literally just like to spend time with her and care about her. Everything else just kind of makes it a mess.”

In her Dec. 3. video, titled “I took my girlfriend’s phone and flirted with my best friend. prank????” Mongeau tested her friend’s loyalty by texting him from Cyrus’ phone. The YouTube star sent provocative and flirty messages to see if her friend would be willing to cross the line with Cyrus.

“If I have a boo — I don’t know how to phrase this, I just like to test my friends sometimes,” she said. “I thought it would be a fun time to text Imari off of Noah’s phone to see if he would flirt with her back.”

Mongeau’s rep did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment at the time. A rep for Cyrus could not be reached.

In September, Mongeau said the two were just friends.

“No I’m not in a relationship with Noah,” she said during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I do f—– love her though. She’s so dope. We actually have so much in common.”

Mongeau and Cyrus met at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards but did not become close friends until months later.

“We’re really similar,” she added. “It’s cool because it caught me off guard.”

Mongeau married fellow YouTuber Jake Paul in August in a wild Las Vegas wedding, though they later clarified that the ceremony was not legally binding.

While the two still spend time together and present their relationship as romantic, Mongeau has said that they are in an “open” relationship.

“We are both very open people,” she said. “We are not in a place where monogamy is always easy.”

“It’s complicated,” she added. “But I guess you could say we are open.”

Mongeau previously dated Bella Thorne for a year, and Cyrus last dated rapper Lil Xan.