Selena Gomez Says She Was a Victim of Emotional Abuse While Dating Justin Bieber
Throughout the process of promoting her new album, Rare, Selena Gomez has been forthcoming about relationship challenges she faced in the past — without naming any of her exes directly. But in a new interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Selena shed some light on the fallout from her relationship with Justin Bieber.
After being asked about her single “Lose You to Love Me,” Selena noted that she was “very proud” of the track, adding, “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.”
From there, Garcia-Navarro brought up the Biebs, prompting: “Saying goodbye to Justin Bieber, who I'm assuming you're speaking about.” Selena didn’t deny Garcia-Navarro’s suggestion, responding: “You had to get the name in, I get it.”
Garcia-Navarro went on to ask if Selena views her relationship with Justin as one of the harder points in her life. “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,” Selena answered, before being asked if she was referring to emotional abuse.
“Yes, and…I had to find a way to understand it as an adult,” the singer-songwriter continued. “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.” (NPR noted that they reached out to Justin for comment; at the time of writing, the singer had not responded to Selena’s claims.)
Selena has spoken publicly about failed relationships before, often reflecting on what her breakups have taught her. In October, she stopped by the Zach Sang Show to talk about love that can prove to be toxic. “You have this codependency that you think is love,” she said. “And then you have this addiction to the passion and the frustration with each other that you think, 'Oh, that's love'…and I believed that for a long time.”
Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Selena Gomez Is Done With Other People Narrating Her Life for Her
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
