Back in January, Selena Gomez set the record straight when a Rolling Stone interviewer asked her what was going on between her and Justin Bieber: “I am so beyond done with talking about that, and him.”
She made it clear that she has no desire to talk about her past relationship, or any relationship for that matter, but that hasn’t stopped media outlets from consistently publishing stories still linking her to Justin Bieber, in addition to other men she has been rumored to date (Niall Horan and Orlando Bloom, for example).
In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Gomez opens up about what it’s like doing press for her Revival Tour and constantly being asked about her dating life rather than her career.
“I would try to promote something that I loved, and the entire interview would be about my personal life,” Gomez said. “I would leave a room feeling defeated, feeling embarrassed, but I would always make sure to put that smile on my face because I wasn’t going to let them get to me.”
For the record, Gomez has been dating, but is single as of now. “I’ve been having the best time. But I don’t trust anybody, so dating can only be fun if I know I’m going to have fun.”
It’s discouraging to see a woman who has accomplished so much in her career at a young age being defined not by her achievements, but by the men in her life—whether in her past or present, or even with men she is hypothetically dating. Not to mention being constantly reminded of her ex—who she has requested to no longer speak about—must be frustrating.
Her Revival Tour started this week, and she’s playing concerts around the world for the remainder of the year. As if that wasn’t enough, Gomez is also executive-producing three television series: a novel adaptation on Netflix, a Latina Empire-type show on Freeform, and a TV drama on Lifetime based on her own life story. When speaking about all these new projects she’s taking on, she said, “I finally just wanted to go for it. I wanted to do things that I knew were going to be me. I don’t want people to look at me as someone who is just this celebrity person.”
Clearly, she’s busy with touring and executive-producing, and she doesn’t have time to answer worn-out questions about her personal life. It’s time to start asking Gomez, and all female artists for that matter, about the work they are doing rather than who they are dating. We’re glad Gomez spoke out about this because she deserves to be known for all the incredible work she’s doing instead of being defined by her relationships.