Selena Gomez Gets Candid About Changes to Her Body in Then and Now Bikini Photos

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez looked back on her past bikini photos and issued an important message for the present and the future.

The Only Murders in the Building actress took to her Instagram Story late on Monday, Jan. 22, with a throwback photo of herself from over a decade ago, followed by a more recent snap, comparing each of the looks.

Alongside each of the images, Gomez shared a small blurb of text that's sure to inspire confidence and a positive attitude within anyone who sees it.

The first snap showed the then-21-year-old rocking a zebra-print bikini and some oversized sunglasses while soaking up the sun in Florida. Underneath it, she wrote, "Today, I realized I will never look like this again..."

Gomez, now 31, continued in a second slide, which featured a more recent photo of herself stunning in a black and white two-piece as she climbed onto the back of a boat during a yachting adventure in Cabo. "I'm not perfect but I am proud to be who I am.."

"Sometimes I forget it's ok to be me," she concluded.

The "Single Soon" songstress previously disclosed that she struggled with body image issues in her 2022 Apple TV documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. But over the years, she has worked to use it as a way to connect with others in similar situations, becoming an outspoken advocate for body positivity and confidence in the process.

In footage from her documentary, which was filmed ahead of her 2016 Revival tour, Gomez is dismayed during wardrobe fittings over her body. "I wanna have the body to wear it proudly and I want the booty that I don't have," she confessed. "My body's very young. [I want to] look like a woman and not like a 12-year-old boy."

Though she admitted that she still has moments where she "forgets it's ok to be me," her candidness and transparency will undoubtedly continue to inspire fans–as will her unfiltered social media presence and the Rare Impact Fund, the charitable organization supporting mental health advocacy and initiatives set up by her beauty brand.

Next: Selena Gomez Dazzles in Sparkling Sheer Gown on the Emmys Red Carpet