Selena Gomez is one of the women of the moment, dominating Cannes Film Festival with her new film Emelia Pérez – earning her a Best Actress award and a nine-minute standing ovation.
However, it is the 31-year-old’s personal life that makes her the most headlines, with Gomez currently dating record producer Benny Blanco, and the pair going on to become one of the most talked-about couples in the world.
Gomez and Blanco have been dating for almost a year, getting together in June 2023, after years of friendship. “It just happens when you least expect it” recalled Gomez in a recent interview with TIME, going on to explain that her relationship with the 36-year-old “isn’t [her] only source of happiness”.
“I was alone for five years, and I got really used to it,” she recalled. “A lot of people are afraid of being alone and I probably tortured myself in my head for like two years being alone, and then I kind of accepted it. Then I came up with my plan, which was I was going to adopt at 35 if I had not met anyone.”
It was her words about going public with her relationship with Blanco that made headlines this week, with Gomez opening up about “grappling with fans’ reactions to their romance”.
“I know what people can do to people I love,” Gomez recalled. “My own fans, who I adore and feel like have shaped who I am, will say the most hurtful things to me about how I live my life. But he has the strength in him that none of that noise fazes him.”
“It’s really impressive, and I just cherish every moment with him,” she continued. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that he’s not going anywhere any time soon.”
We will continue to update this story.