Selena Gomez Is in a ‘Much Better Place’ Amid Romance With Benny Blanco: ‘Makes Her Feel Confident’
It was a tale of two bikini photos. Selena Gomez took to her Instagram Stories on January 22 to first share a picture of herself wearing a teeny leopard print two-piece in 2013. "Today I realized I will never look like this again," she wrote. Next, the 31-year-old posted a snap from 2023, in which she covered her now much more womanly figure in high-waisted bottoms and a tube top. "I'm not perfect, but I am proud to be who I am," she captioned the second shot. "Sometimes I forget it's ok to be me."
Self acceptance hasn't come easy for Selena. In the public eye since age 9, the Only Murders in the Building star has been open about her struggles with body image, admitting to feeling "embarrassed" when she no longer fit into sample sizes and wishing she "looked" different at times. Making things harder? The Rare Beauty founder suffers from lupus, which can cause weight fluctuations, and scars from a 2017 kidney transplant only added to her insecurity.
"Selena is in a much better place now," a source exclusively tells Life & Style. "Even though she's gained weight and is curvier than she used to be, Selena feels sexy, confident and comfortable — and she refuses to hide her body."
Flipping a Switch
According to the source, Selena is "no longer hung up on what other people think about her." But that wasn't the case in the past. "When she was younger, Selena felt like a prisoner to people's opinions," says the source. "She would read online comments about herself in her teens and 20s and become so depressed."
She has an improved support system these days, though. While a tumultuous, eight-year on-and-off romance with Justin Bieber, 29 — whom Selena once accused of cheating — led to self-doubt, she's said current beau Benny Blanco, 35, "has treated me better than any human being on this planet."
"Benny makes her feel extremely confident," shares the source of the Grammy-nominated record producer, who collaborated with Selena on the hit 2023 song "Single Soon." "He's always telling her how beautiful she is and how much he loves her.”
Selena has more important things to focus on than her image, anyway. “She is happy with her career and her relationships and knows that these are the things that matter most, more than her dress size,” says the source, noting that her new album is due out in early 2024, while she’s set to film the movie Emilia Perez in France this spring. “She feels more content than ever before.”
