As congratulations poured in Wednesday for Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth — from both personal friends and their legions of fans — I learned the newly engaged couple worked hard to convince their parents that they were ready to make this big leap.

The former “Hannah Montana” star particularly had to win over her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus — convincing him his 19-year-old daughter was grown-up enough to walk down the aisle.

“Billy Ray has always been super-protective of Miley,” said one of the Cyrus family’s oldest friends. “While he’s become very fond of Liam — as has the entire family — Billy Ray was just worried about Miley still being a teenager. … On top of that, there’s the whole entertainment world thing, where so many young stars get married young, and then it falls apart fairly quickly”

“He obviously didn’t want that to happen to his Miley.”

Hemsworth — himself only 22 but considered very mature for his age — apparently has quietly worked on Miley’s dad for a number of months, making him realize this is something the couple takes very seriously.

Having met on the set of their film “The Last Song” in 2009, the twosome have dated relatively steadily since then — having taken only one break “just to make sure this was the real deal,” added the source.

Cyrus herself happily tweeted Wednesday, “I feel all my dreams are coming true,” and top Hollywood jeweler Neil Lane told People that Hemsworth helped design the 3.5-carat diamond engagement ring — calling it a “contemporary design based on vintage aesthetics.”

That fits with my source’s take on the “Hunger Games” star: “Underneath it all, Liam is a very solid guy with good, old-fashioned values. At the end of the day, I think that’s won over Billy Ray.”

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