Oh, baby. Selena Gomez’s response to Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber’s pregnancy announcement was all about preserving her peace. Just days before the Biebers announced they were expecting their first child together, the “Lose You to Love Me” singer made the decision to disable her comments on social media to avoid any unnecessary drama.
The Only Murders in the Building star explained her decision in an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb at a mental health summit put together by her Rare Beauty Impact Fund. “I disabled all my comments on my photos on Instagram for only my friends. So I think I’ve created boundaries to help me,” Selena told Kotb.
“Obviously people fussed about it. They fuss about everything,” the 31-year-old said. Despite the response from fans, Selena insisted that it was the right decision for herself. “I felt empowered by doing that, by saying, ‘This is just for me,’” she added.
This isn’t the first time the Rare Beauty founder is making a change to her social media habits. She has taken multiple social media breaks throughout the years, and during a panel at the TIME100 Summit in April 2024, she opened up about her past decision to let her team manage all of her posts and comments on Instagram. “I took four years off of Instagram, and I let my team post for me for those years,” she shared at the time. “I felt like it was the most rewarding gift I gave myself.”
During her break, Selena remembers being “more present.” She explained, “I was happier. I would actually get real phone calls [from] people telling me about their story, and I could actually hear it instead of going, ‘Oh, I already know what you did today.’ It’s more human.”
As the world’s most-followed woman on Instagram, it makes complete sense for Selena to set healthy boundaries around social media—and that’s not even considering the potential drama from Justin and Hailey Bieber‘s recent announcement. The couple, who have been together since 2018, revealed they were expecting their first child together in a heartfelt post to social media on May 9, 2024. While a bundle of joy is typically a reason to celebrate, the rumored feud between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber was bound to have some social media users spreading hate instead.
As fans of Bieber and Gomez know, the pair had an on-again, off-again relationship that spanned several years. Their final breakup took place around March 2018, but it wasn’t long before Bieber moved on with Hailey Baldwin (now Bieber.) The pair had briefly dated in the past, and officially got back together in May 2018. The couple then got engaged in July 2018, just a few weeks after rekindling their romance. They went on to get married in a civil ceremony in New York City in September 2018. A year later, the Biebers had a larger religious ceremony with family and friends in South Carolina.
Their recent post to Instagram also revealed that they had a vow renewal in Hawaii ahead of their pregnancy announcement. In footage posted to social media, the Biebers can be seen standing at the altar again. Hailey wore a white lace Saint Laurent dress, which showed off her growing baby bump, along with a matching veil.
The pair have always been candid about their desire to have children. “We always knew that we were aligned on what we wanted in our future,” Hailey told ELLE in 2021. “We had talked about wanting to be married young and having a family young and building a life. Even before we knew we wanted to be with each other.” Now, it seems that dream is finally coming true.
