Selena Gomez opens up about Justin Bieber breakup and new love with Benny Blanco: Some kisses are just to have fun...

Selena Gomez talks about Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco in a recent podcast

Selena Gomez recently offered fans a rare and heartfelt insight into her emotional healing journey following her highly publicised breakup with pop star Justin Bieber.

Appearing on Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, the singer and actress was joined by her fiancé, music producer Benny Blanco, as she spoke candidly about finding love again after a long period of solitude and self-discovery.

According to InStyle, she admitted to him that it had been quite some time since she had genuinely liked someone. "I hadn't liked anybody in a long, long time," she said.

She went on to explain that while some kisses are just playful, the presence of real emotion changes everything. "Some kisses are just to have fun, but when there's emotion involved in one, it's different. I was a little embarrassed because I hadn't felt this way in such a long time."

After ending her turbulent, on-again, off-again relationship with Bieber, which lasted for nearly ten years, Gomez disclosed that she had been unmarried for almost five years. She acknowledged going on a number of dates in the years after their final breakup in 2018, but none of them felt real or satisfying—until Benny Blanco came into her life.

In 2023, their friendship developed into something more, and in December 2024, they became engaged.

While Gomez has typically maintained a degree of privacy when it comes to her personal life, she previously touched on the significance of her split from Bieber in her 2022 documentary My Mind & Me. Recalling the impact of that relationship, she stated, "the best thing that ever happened", adding, "I wasn't scared anymore," and described the relief she felt from no longer being “terrorized” by the emotional weight of the past.

Many fans clung to the memory of "Jelena" because of the intensely publicised nature of her relationship with Bieber, which lasted from 2010 to 2018. But since then, Gomez has advanced not only in her romantic life but also in terms of her mental health and personal development.

Gomez and Blanco seem to have found enduring love now that they are in a much healthier environment. With public appearances like their romantic outing at the 2025 Oscars, their friendship—which dates back years—has grown stronger. After their engagement, she posted on Instagram, saying, "Forever begins now." Gomez appears to be starting a new, more tranquil phase of her life, surrounded by devoted fans and close friends.