During an interview with NPR, Selena Gomez spoke out about the emotional “abuse” she experienced during her on-again, off-again relationship with ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. Gomez talked about growing and moving on from the pain she felt when her romance with Bieber ended in March 2018 saying: “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.”
When asked if she meant “emotional abuse,” Gomez responded, “Yes,” — adding, “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 and Bieber first became a couple in 2011 before ending their on-and-off romance nearly seven years later. Months after calling it quits, Bieber proposed to now-wife Hailey Baldwin, who were married in September 2018.