(Sunday Times’ Style)
Selena Gomez is candidly opening up about her on-and-off relationship with Justin Bieber, including the positive and negative ways the romance has affected her image.
“It’s difficult for people to separate us. The internet wants to freeze this moment in time and constantly repeat it,” Gomez tells the Sunday Times in a cover story for its Style magazine. As Gossip Cop has pointed out, social media tends to blow up any time there’s a new twist or turn in the “Jelena” saga. And to Gomez, the fixation on their evolving dynamic is far from ideal.
She explains, “I didn’t think I was doing anything bad by falling in love. There’s such an emphasis on people being the perfect thing and then destroying them because it’s good press. Throw in the fact that you are a teenager — it makes it more difficult.” Indeed, Gomez has largely grown up in the spotlight, with fans seeing her go from wearing a purity ring to, well, not.
“I said, ‘Dad, I want a promise ring.’ He went to the church and got it blessed. He actually used me as an example for other kids. I’m going to keep my promise to myself, to my family, and to God,” she recalls. Gomez goes on to note she’s “not embarrassed” that she eventually took it off after she began seeing Bieber, telling the outlet, “I got it was I was 13 and I respect so much what it represented, but it isn’t for everyone.”
Now, however, Gomez seems to be putting dating on the backburner, admitting she doesn’t “really want anything right now.” Still, the singer-actress says, “The next relationship will be something dear to me. There is no way I will ever hide my life.” And even if being open with her life can bring pain, Gomez is looking on the bright side.
“Sometimes you have to lie to yourself to get through the criticism, and then you’re in your closet crying. It’s been like that for me a couple of times, but I only want to learn from those things,” she says. Besides, Gomez will have at least one friend to support her through every up and down. Of longtime best friend Taylor Swift, Gomez confesses, “I can count on one hand the people I could call and who would be there for me. Taylor is one of the greatest people.”
Gomez goes on to share, “When I split with my first boyfriend [believed to be Nick Jonas] and I was really sad about it, she flew into town with homemade cookies and a bunch of junk food. To this day, if I called her, she would do the same thing, despite being one of the busiest people in the world.” TELL US: What do you think of Gomez’s comments about Bieber and Swift?
