Selena Gomez made her comeback to the music world in a big way in 2020. After waiting five years between album cycles, Gomez dropped her fourth studio album
Rare in January and debuted her most personal and vulnerable work to date, including the very personal lead single “
Lose You To Love Me,” a song heavily rumoured to be about ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber.Following the release of her comeback album
Rare, which debuted at the number one spot on Billboard, Gomez spoke with
NPR reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro about her new album, which was born on the back of heartbreak and emotional abuse.Garcia-Navarro touches on the very private and public events that have transpired since Gomez released her last album, 2015’s
Revival. The singer endured a kidney transplant, struggled with lupus, sought treatment for anxiety, and went through two public break ups, including the end of her year-long relationship with Canadian musician The Weeknd and her famous on-again, off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber.[video_embed id='-1']Selena Gomez: Taylor Swift changed my life[/video_embed]Speaking about the album’s lead single “Lose You to Love Me,” Garcia-Navarro brings up Bieber by name. Gomez says that she doesn’t believe the track is a ‘hateful’ song, but that she “had something beautiful and I would never deny that it wasn't that. It was very difficult and I'm happy it's over.”Gomez says that she’s moved on from the period in a way that has enabled her to find strength from the situation, which she says involved mental abuse. “I've found the strength in it. It's dangerous to stay in a victim mentality. And I'm not being disrespectful, I do feel I was a victim to certain abuse,” said Gomez. “I had to find a way to understand it as an adult. And I had to understand the choices I was making. As much as I definitely don't want to spend the rest of my life talking about this, I am really proud that I can say I feel the strongest I've ever felt and I've found a way to just walk through it with as much grace as possible.”
In a
September 2019 Instagram post, Bieber acknowledges Gomez’s recount of their relationship, saying that he began using drugs at 19-years-old and “abused all my relationships. I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry.”The new interview also included a discussion around the topic of Gomez’s struggles with mental health. The singer famously spent time in a facility in 2018 for depression and anxiety and wrote about her experience on the new album. Gomez says that she’s finally found the right balance of medication and a medical staff support team, which includes regular therapy sessions, but says that her treatment will be ongoing. “Taking care of mental health, that's forever. That's something I will have to continue to work on. Yes, I don't think I just magically feel better. I have days where it is hard for me to get out of bed, or I have major anxiety attacks. All of that still happens.”Citing the idea that the more a person learns about a topic, the less fear they have towards it, Gomez says that she’s found the silver lining in her struggle by knowing that she can use her platform to reduce the stigma around mental health and help improve the lives of others. “I want to live in a world where an 11-year-old is not committing suicide because of bullying on social media,” said Gomez. “That's what I think my real mission is; I think that I have such big dreams and ideas for ways that I can give back. And right now I know that this is something that will be for life.”
