exclusive interview: selena gomez
Forget everything te think te know about Selena Gomez, Disney Princess. The Monte Carlo stella, star opens up to Seventeen about growing up, moving on, and falling in love.
Selena Gomez might be dating Justin Bieber, the guy every girl obsesses over, but she still has other crushes too. That’s the great thing about her: she’s growing up and is getting to know herself, but she’s not totally abandoning the girl te fell in Amore with on Wizards either.
Today, the 18-year-old actress is finding a fierce independence that’s helping her trade the TV life for major movie stella, star status, in July's Monte Carlo. But più importantly, she’s finding peace in her relationships—including her friendship with Demi—and is opening herself up to the possibility of real love. Seventeen sat down with Selena to talk love, life, and of course, Justin.
17: Your movie, Monte Carlo, is all about growing up and moving on—graduating and taking this first major trip alone. Do te feel as free as Grace is?
SG: Yeah, I’ve definitely gained a lot of that recently. I went on vacation over New Year’s with a bunch of my friends, for the first time, without my parents. That was so much fun. I feel like I’m in a place where I’m on my own a little bit. It’s nice.
17: Traveling with Friends is definitely a major milestone. Who would te want to take with te on a trip to Paris (or Monte Carlo)?
SG: I’d Amore to go on vacation with Taylor [Swift]. I’ve been able to fly to Nashville to see her, and she’ll come to LA a lot, but it’d be nice to get away. It would be really fun. I’ve known Taylor for over three years now, so we’re at the point where we just get each other.
17: Is she your best friend?
SG: I’ve gotten to the point where the label of “best friend” is so ridiculous. If te have three people in your life that te can trust, te can consider yourself the luckiest person in the whole world. I have a lot of wonderful people in my life—probably five, collectively—who I can tell everything to. There’s Jennifer [Stone], my friend Ashley, and Taylor, and my two cousins.
17: Has it always been easy for te with friends? o have te ever had a friendship fall apart?
SG: Yes. te reflect on the people who used to be in your life, and it’s like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that person was ever really in my life.’ But people are put into your life for seasons, for different reasons, and to teach te lessons. You’re growing and changing, and eventually, te can go from having all these Friends to feeling like te have no one, because you’ve been betrayed, o you’ve gone through things. But in this moment, I’m in such a good place with my friends. I feel confident and I’m happy there are people who I can truly trust in my life.
17: And if a person does betray you, do te ever give secondo chances?
SG: I believe in secondo chances, but I don’t believe in third o fourth chances. I Amore talking through things, and I always want to make things work, if I really Amore someone, but eventually, if they can’t fix whatever is wrong, o if they’ve done something and then they continue to do it, they’re probably not going to change for anybody. te can’t change a person. Jennifer Stone has told me a thousand times: “You want to be Friends with people who double you, not cut te in half.”
17: As far as Friends who change, o go through something, te obviously went through that with Demi. Are te two still close?
SG: Yes, of course. There’s an amount of Amore that can never—no matter what—be taken away o torn apart, no matter the situation. There are certain people who te will always, always love, so if anything, this just reminded me of how much I truly Amore her.
17: It’s so nice to be able to open yourself up to Amore that way. Do te feel like you’ve ever been in Amore before?
SG: I don’t know. I maybe had a first Amore and had my cuore broken, but reflecting on it, I don’t think that was love. I think that was just me being fifteen and going, "Oh my gosh! I know I’m in love. I’m going to marry him." So I don’t think that was love. I think as I’m getting older and having più in-depth relationships, maybe I’ll experience it. At the moment, I don’t know, exactly, if I’ve been in love.
17: But when te did feel like te were in love, how did te deal when it ended?
SG: I’ve very emotional. When I went through my first breakup, I thought it was the end of the world, and I thought I was going to die if I didn’t have him in my life. It was good to cry it out, and just scream, o call my Friends in the middle of the night crying. te can’t shut down, te can’t say, ‘What can I do to make this go away?’. te have to let it be painful and get through it. Every giorno gets better. Because when you’re in love, te kind of give everything and make that person your life. So every giorno te get più and più of yourself back, and it feels better.
17: You’ve been very private with your relationships in the past, but with Justin, you’ve been più open—you even coordinated Oscars outfits.
SG: I know. That was our prom.
17: Was there a corsage involved?
SG: No, but there should have been!
17: Is there a reason you’ve decided to be più open this time around, with Justin?
SG: I don’t like hiding. I do like to keep certain things to myself, but at the end of the day, I’m eighteen, and I’m going to fall in love. I’m going to hang out with people, and I’m going to explore myself, and I’m okay with that.
17: Since te are più open, you’ve obviously been through a tough time with Justin’s fans. Do te remember being younger, and being a fan with a crush?
SG: Are te kidding me? I’m still thinking Zac Efron’s my husband.
17: Well we hear he’s on the market…
SG: No. I wouldn’t touch that. I Amore Vanessa [Hudgens] way too much.
17: Do te have anything te wish te could say to Justin’s fan now?
SG: I do see the passion that a lot of these girls have, and it’s beautiful. I Amore it. I really do. It’s special.
Forget everything te think te know about Selena Gomez, Disney Princess. The Monte Carlo stella, star opens up to Seventeen about growing up, moving on, and falling in love.
Selena Gomez might be dating Justin Bieber, the guy every girl obsesses over, but she still has other crushes too. That’s the great thing about her: she’s growing up and is getting to know herself, but she’s not totally abandoning the girl te fell in Amore with on Wizards either.
Today, the 18-year-old actress is finding a fierce independence that’s helping her trade the TV life for major movie stella, star status, in July's Monte Carlo. But più importantly, she’s finding peace in her relationships—including her friendship with Demi—and is opening herself up to the possibility of real love. Seventeen sat down with Selena to talk love, life, and of course, Justin.
17: Your movie, Monte Carlo, is all about growing up and moving on—graduating and taking this first major trip alone. Do te feel as free as Grace is?
SG: Yeah, I’ve definitely gained a lot of that recently. I went on vacation over New Year’s with a bunch of my friends, for the first time, without my parents. That was so much fun. I feel like I’m in a place where I’m on my own a little bit. It’s nice.
17: Traveling with Friends is definitely a major milestone. Who would te want to take with te on a trip to Paris (or Monte Carlo)?
SG: I’d Amore to go on vacation with Taylor [Swift]. I’ve been able to fly to Nashville to see her, and she’ll come to LA a lot, but it’d be nice to get away. It would be really fun. I’ve known Taylor for over three years now, so we’re at the point where we just get each other.
17: Is she your best friend?
SG: I’ve gotten to the point where the label of “best friend” is so ridiculous. If te have three people in your life that te can trust, te can consider yourself the luckiest person in the whole world. I have a lot of wonderful people in my life—probably five, collectively—who I can tell everything to. There’s Jennifer [Stone], my friend Ashley, and Taylor, and my two cousins.
17: Has it always been easy for te with friends? o have te ever had a friendship fall apart?
SG: Yes. te reflect on the people who used to be in your life, and it’s like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that person was ever really in my life.’ But people are put into your life for seasons, for different reasons, and to teach te lessons. You’re growing and changing, and eventually, te can go from having all these Friends to feeling like te have no one, because you’ve been betrayed, o you’ve gone through things. But in this moment, I’m in such a good place with my friends. I feel confident and I’m happy there are people who I can truly trust in my life.
17: And if a person does betray you, do te ever give secondo chances?
SG: I believe in secondo chances, but I don’t believe in third o fourth chances. I Amore talking through things, and I always want to make things work, if I really Amore someone, but eventually, if they can’t fix whatever is wrong, o if they’ve done something and then they continue to do it, they’re probably not going to change for anybody. te can’t change a person. Jennifer Stone has told me a thousand times: “You want to be Friends with people who double you, not cut te in half.”
17: As far as Friends who change, o go through something, te obviously went through that with Demi. Are te two still close?
SG: Yes, of course. There’s an amount of Amore that can never—no matter what—be taken away o torn apart, no matter the situation. There are certain people who te will always, always love, so if anything, this just reminded me of how much I truly Amore her.
17: It’s so nice to be able to open yourself up to Amore that way. Do te feel like you’ve ever been in Amore before?
SG: I don’t know. I maybe had a first Amore and had my cuore broken, but reflecting on it, I don’t think that was love. I think that was just me being fifteen and going, "Oh my gosh! I know I’m in love. I’m going to marry him." So I don’t think that was love. I think as I’m getting older and having più in-depth relationships, maybe I’ll experience it. At the moment, I don’t know, exactly, if I’ve been in love.
17: But when te did feel like te were in love, how did te deal when it ended?
SG: I’ve very emotional. When I went through my first breakup, I thought it was the end of the world, and I thought I was going to die if I didn’t have him in my life. It was good to cry it out, and just scream, o call my Friends in the middle of the night crying. te can’t shut down, te can’t say, ‘What can I do to make this go away?’. te have to let it be painful and get through it. Every giorno gets better. Because when you’re in love, te kind of give everything and make that person your life. So every giorno te get più and più of yourself back, and it feels better.
17: You’ve been very private with your relationships in the past, but with Justin, you’ve been più open—you even coordinated Oscars outfits.
SG: I know. That was our prom.
17: Was there a corsage involved?
SG: No, but there should have been!
17: Is there a reason you’ve decided to be più open this time around, with Justin?
SG: I don’t like hiding. I do like to keep certain things to myself, but at the end of the day, I’m eighteen, and I’m going to fall in love. I’m going to hang out with people, and I’m going to explore myself, and I’m okay with that.
17: Since te are più open, you’ve obviously been through a tough time with Justin’s fans. Do te remember being younger, and being a fan with a crush?
SG: Are te kidding me? I’m still thinking Zac Efron’s my husband.
17: Well we hear he’s on the market…
SG: No. I wouldn’t touch that. I Amore Vanessa [Hudgens] way too much.
17: Do te have anything te wish te could say to Justin’s fan now?
SG: I do see the passion that a lot of these girls have, and it’s beautiful. I Amore it. I really do. It’s special.
