Selena Gomez has undeniably had a difficult few years as she struggled through a kidney transplant, lupus diagnosis, chemotherapy, and heartbreak. However, the 29-year-old superstar has continued to push on, dipping her toe not only in the realm of music and acting, but in producing and creating a makeup line and cooking show as well. Gomez recently spoke out about the difficulties of living life in the public eye, admitting that while things certainly have not been easy, there’s always been an underlying motive keeping her going.
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Speaking to Elle in their September Latinx edition, the 29-year-old shared, “My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks—these were all things that honestly should have taken me down.” She continued, “Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?’”
However, she revealed, despite the struggles she has faced, she always knew that she had a purpose in the spotlight. “‘You’re going to help people,’” she remembered reminding herself. “That’s really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn’t strong enough and would have done something to hurt myself.”
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Gomez also noted how the narrative that the public spun around her was particularly damaging as she grew older, recalling when she sought help in 2014 to support her mental health, “I don’t even know what they really believed I was doing—drugs, alcohol, running around, partying. The narrative was so nasty.”
The actress has come a long way since she entered the spotlight in her Barney days, sharing with Elle that her bipolar disorder diagnosis brought forth much needed clarity for Gomez. “I felt a huge weight lifted off me when I found out,” she said. “I could take a deep breath and go, ‘Okay, that explains so much.’” Now starring in the upcoming Hulu show Only Murders in the Building with Martin Short and Steve Martin, Gomez has been busier than ever but seems to have found peace in knowing that her music has made a difference. “I’m like, ‘I’ve got to do something [more]. After I’m gone, I want people to remember me for my heart,’” she told Elle.
