Selena Gomez shares loving snap of herself holding hands with boyfriend Benny Blanco shortly after Hailey Bieber’s pregnancy announcement… six years after her split with Justin
Selena Gomez has broken her silence after her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey announced that they’re expecting their first child together on Thursday.
Although Selena didn’t directly acknowledge the pregnancy news, she did share a photo with her current boyfriend Benny Blanco, 36, to her Instagram Story.
Selena, 31, previously dated Justin, 30, on/off for eight years before their finite split in May 2018.
Months later, Justin rekindled his 2016 fling with Hailey, 27, and they wed that September.
The black-and-white shot showed Selena and Benny — who is a music producer that’s collaborated with Justin — holding hands while bundled up in blankets.
The Disney Channel alum had on a large O-shaped ring on her left ring finger.
Selena uploaded the photo just two hours after Hailey unveiled her pregnancy on Instagram.
The model announced their baby joy with a beautiful video showing her debuting her bump in a custom Saint Laurent lace wedding dress by Anthony Vaccarello, paired with a flowing veil during a surprise vow renewal in Hawaii.
The star and the Baby hitmaker – who recently sparked concern with a crying selfie – shared a sweet kiss as they celebrated their news during their outdoor ceremony – with Hailey sporting a new diamond ring.
Justin – who was casually clad in a backwards cap, bomber jacket and jeans – was seen filming his bride cradling her bump – with the video set to a new track by the Grammy winner.
TMZ reports that Hailey is more than six months pregnant.
Despite knowing one another since 2009, Hailey and Justin’s friendship didn’t take a romantic turn until 2016.
They famously rang in 2016 together with a vacation to Anguilla, where Justin posted a photo of them sharing a kiss.
At the time, Justin was in a on-off and highly-publicized romance with Selena from 2011 until 2014 before reuniting for a short while in 2017. They split for good in 2018.
For years, the internet has pit Selena and Hailey against one other by fueling rumors of a so-called ‘feud.’
They successfully quashed the speculation in October 2022 when they warmly posed for photos together at an event in LA. They even shared a hug in one photo.
But in February 2023, the feud rumors came up again after Hailey shared a TikTok clip that some fans perceived as her making fun of Selena.
Joined by close friends Kendall Jenner and Justine Skye, the ladies lip-synced along to the words: ‘I’m not saying she deserves it, but God’s timing is always right.’
The clip was shared right around the time that Selena was receiving a lot of negative attention over a set of unflattering paparazzi photos that were taken of her during a trip to Mexico – and based on the suspicious timing of Hailey’s post, many were convinced that she was shading Selena.
The TikTok was swiftly deleted, and Hailey insisted in a comment that the video had nothing to do with her husband’s ex.
‘I never comment on this type of thing but we were just having a girls’ night and did a random TikTok sound for fun,’ she wrote. ‘It’s not directed at anyone.’
Selena also got involved at the time, adding in a comment: ‘It’s OK. I don’t let these things get me down. Be nice to everyone.’
However, the drama didn’t end there. Fans then became convinced that Hailey’s pal Kylie Jenner was mocking Selena days later.
The actress had shared a post to TikTok admitting that she had ‘accidentally laminated’ her brows too much.
Taking to Instagram, Kylie posted a snap in a very similar pose along with the accompanying caption: ‘This was an accident?’
The reality star appeared to add even more fuel to the fire by sharing a screenshot from a recent FaceTime call with Hailey right after – during which they both zoomed in on their eyebrows.
However, Kylie denied that she was bashing Selena in a comment, stating, ‘This is reaching.
‘No shade towards Selena ever and I didn’t see her eyebrow posts. You guys are making something out of nothing. This is silly.’
‘Agreed @kyliejenner,’ Selena responded. ‘It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie.’
Even so, the hashtag #TeamSelena started to trend online, and the uproar resulted in Kylie reportedly losing half a million social media followers, while Hailey’s following went down by close to a million in total.
On the other hand, the Only Murders in the Building star saw her following increased by 10 million as a result of the online trolling accusations aimed at the pair.
Later that month, Selena stirred up the pot once again when she started to comment on some TikTok videos about Hailey, as well as some about her ex Justin.
On a TikTok containing old footage of Hailey seemingly sticking her tongue out in disgust when a Taylor Swift song played, Selena wrote, ‘So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.’
She also commented ‘I love you’ on a video a fan posted, in which she voiced her support for Swift amid all the bullying she had received from ‘mean girls and nepo babies.’
Afterwards, she went live on TikTok and revealed she was taking a break from the platform. She deactivated her account but brought it back hours later.
In March 2023, Selena revealed that Hailey actually ‘reached out to her’ after getting ‘death threats’ – as she urged her fans to stop with the ‘hate and bullying.’
‘Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity,’ she wrote on her IG Story at the time.
‘This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.’
