In a recent interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Selena Gomez has revealed that she realized that she was a victim of ‘emotional abuse’ while dating Justin Bieber, before officially breaking up for good in 2018.
Garcia-Navarro asked about the inspiration behind her new album, “Lose You to Love Me.”
Gomez said, “I’m very proud of it. It has a different meaning to me now from when I wrote it. I felt I didn’t get a respectful closure, and I had accepted that, but I know I needed some way to just say a few things that I wish I had said.”
“It’s not a hateful song; it’s a song that is saying — I had something beautiful and I would never deny that it wasn’t that. It was very difficult and I’m happy it’s over. And I felt like this was a great way to just say, you know, it’s done, and I understand that, and I respect that, and now here I am stepping into a whole other chapter,” she added.
Garcia-Navarro poked further, “Saying goodbye to Justin Bieber, who I’m assuming you’re speaking about.” Gomez responded, “You had to get the name in, I get it.”
The NPR host then asked Gomez whether moving on from Bieber was the most difficult time for her. The 27-year-old singer said, “No, because 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.”
Garcia-Navarro asked, “You mean emotional abuse?” Gomez admitted, “Yes, and I think that it’s something that — 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,” Gomez continued.
In August 2019, Bieber admitted to abusing drugs and his past relationships while he was dating Gomez. He went on to seek help for his issues before marrying Hailey Baldwin last year. Gomez has also moved on and she is happy being single now.
