I think it’s fair to say that no one on TikTok has embraced or embodied singledom quite as well as pop star and actress Selena Gomez. So, as we mourn a single queen—who just recently hard launched her new relationship with American record producer Benny Blanco—let’s look back on the highs and lows of her dating history.
One of gen Z’s favourite ladies, the 31-year-old even released a dance-pop anthem to endorse the single lifestyle in August 2023. The track, aptly named ‘Single Soon’, details Gomez’s excitement to get out of a relationship and rejoin the single women’s club. Ironically, the song was produced by none other than Blanco, the man she is now romantically involved with.
But who else has the pop star left single life behind for? Here is a deep dive into some of her most public relationships:
First things first, let’s dig into Gomez’s most public and controversial relationship to date: her on-and-off romance with fellow musician Justin Bieber. The two started dating in 2010 when Gomez was still on the Disney sitcom The Wizards of Waverly Place and Bieber only had a few hit singles under his belt.
Over the course of eight years, Gomez and Bieber went through a pretty tumultuous relationship, consistent with many break-ups and make-ups. They were hounded by the press and every intimate aspect of their breakups, and subsequent makeups, was dissected. The duo’s relationship ultimately came to an end in 2018, and practically overnight Bieber had moved on with Hailey Bieber in a very brutal and public way. This sparked rumours of a feud between Gomez and Hailey Bieber. Nevertheless, it seems like all three have buried the hatched and let bygones be bygones, especially now that Gomez is dating Justin’s pal Blanco.
I know what you’re thinking, what about girl code? How could Gomez date bestie Taylor Swift’s ex? Well, technically Lautner was Gomez’s ex first. The singer briefly dated the actor after they met while she was filming Ramona and Beezus and he was filming Twilight: New Moon. According to Gomez, the pair went on a couple of dates in 2009 but the romance quickly fizzled out due to public interest that led to an onslaught of paparazzi wherever they went.
Lautner then of course went on to date Swift in the same year. However, all that came out of this relationship was the classic Speak Now banger ‘Back to December’.
In 2017, Gomez dated singer Able Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd.
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Now, this one is pretty special because not every boyfriend gets a Met Gala debut in one of Gomez’s best looks of all time. Clearly, the singer had high hopes for that relationship. The romance allegedly lasted from January to October 2017 when the couple called it quits due to the physical distance, long periods of separation due to touring, and work commitments. I’m sure Tesfaye’s superiority complex had nothing to do with it…
Interestingly, when The Weeknd debuted his very controversial show The Idol this summer, fans were quick to point out that there were a lot of similarities between Gomez and the main character Jocelyn. Jocelyn was supposedly based on multiple women Tesfaye had encountered in the music industry. It kind of makes sense, both were former child stars who had spent some time in a psychiatric facility, employed their best friend as their assistant and dated, well, him…
In 2021, the rumour mill was running wild with stories that Gomez was dating no other than Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Nevertheless, these rumours weren’t exactly based on a lot of evidence. The speculations started when fans noticed that Evans followed had Gomez on Instagram, which, you know, when you consider the fact that the singer has over 200 million followers, doesn’t look as juicy. They were also once spotted leaving a restaurant together—scandalous.
However, the rumours were put to rest once it was confirmed that Evans was actually dating Portuguese actor Alba Baptista, to whom he is now married.
This might already be quite an impressive dating record but why not take it up a notch, perhaps with a luxury yacht vacation in Italy? Well, that’s precisely what happened when Gomez crossed paths with Canadian-Italian film producer and businessman Andrea Iervolino.
The two were reportedly romantically linked in August 2022 after being sighted on a yacht in Positano. Paparazzi pictures depicted them dancing, hugging, sharing forehead kisses, and looking generally cosy and in love under the hot Italian sun. This one, sadly, was simply a summer romance.
Last, but certainly not least. Let’s take a final look at another maybe romance that flooded our FYPs in March 2023. A TikToker, who works as a waitress, posted a video explaining that both she and her friend had sighted Gomez and former One Direction member Zayn Malik on an intimate date: “Tell me how Selena Gomez and Zayn just walked into [the restaurant] hand in hand making out and I seated them.”
The two briefly followed each other on social media, however, the romance seemed to have fizzled out again a couple of weeks later when they promptly unfollowed each other again.
And now we are on to Mr Blanco. I hope the producer isn’t too intimidated by this impressive portfolio of men. After all, they all have one thing in common: they couldn’t make it work. So there’s some hope for him still.