Trending on all social media platforms right now are two names: Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. One is a household name, famous for just about everything. The other, well, is known for her husband.
Who is Selena?
Selena starred on Barney and Friends and Wizards of Waverly Place while growing up, then transitioned to music. She was Disney’s daughter- everyone adored her. She is still making music and performing roles for movies and tv, but most of her time is spent working on her makeup line, Rare Beauty. Unlike many artists’ failed attempts at makeup lines, she is taking the makeup world by storm. Her liquid blush and inclusive foundation lines are off the shelves by the time you hear they are in stores. While having a successful career, she has been battling lupus (an incurable autoimmune disease that can affect most of your body) since her diagnosis in 2014.
The Infamous Couple
Justin Bieber and Selena met through their managers in 2009, which led to an almost decade long relationship. Before they dated they became good friends, with Selena claiming that she saw Justin as a “little brother”, which is odd considering months later they were spotted on a date by the paparazzi. They publicly debuted their relationship at an Oscars Party in 2011, quickly becoming the couple of the century. In 2012 the pair split up for the first time with Selena breaking it off. Six months later they seem to be back together and better than ever, which lasted for 2 years. After the breakup paparazzi claimed that Justin had sparked a romance with Hailey Baldwin while Selena briefly dated Zedd, popular DJ. A year later the pair became close again, not confirming any rumors. A month later in December 2015, Justin was seen kissing Hailey Baldwin on a vacation the two took to St. Barts. After this, fans assumed that Selena and Justin stopped their connection because the next time both of them are together was 2018, celebrating Valentine’s Day. This is after Selena and The Weekend shared their relationship publicly. But later that year they stopped their relationship for good.
Who is Hailey?
Hailey Bieber, formally known as Hailey Baldwin, is the daughter of celebrity Alec Baldwin, brother, making him her uncle. Her nepotism got her modeling jobs for high end fashion, but her real name comes from being Justin Bieber’s wife. They met in 2009 as kids but started dating in 2016, according to Hailey. They wed two months after getting engaged in 2018, then had the official big wedding the following year. Ever since, the two have been name dropping Selena.
The One-Sided Drama
After the Biebers got married in 2019, Hailey was caught stalking Selena fan pages and Justin replied to a comment bringing in Selena while ignoring the actual issue of the question, which revolved around Hailey. In the same month he spent time looking up Selena’s Cochella’s outfits and checking out her performance of that year. Justin also spent time this year stalking Jelena fan pages, and a year later brought Selena into a discussion of accusations against him involving sexual assault. 2021 was quiet surrounding the couple’s obsession with Justin’s ex, but the drama picked up again when Hailey appeared on the controversial podcast “Call Her Daddy”. During the episode she talked about Selena and Justin’s relationship for a large portion of the episode which was not received well considering there was no reason to bring up Selena. In my opinion, talking about your husband’s ex publicly for so long raises some red flags. Justin has kept up all of Selena’s pictures and did not remove the tattoo of her face on his forearm. Throughout all of this Selena has not said much, keeping to herself seeming to be the healthiest option while she handles her company and battles her Lupus. Haileys friends are now getting involved by critically shading Selena on social media, including reality star Kylie Jenner.
Cooking Up Drama?
Another issue is the copy-cat behavior Hailey seems to be doing. Selena created a cooking show where she invites her friends to come chat while they make different recipes. She also has a catchphrase that’s become a running joke on the show. Often you can catch her saying “okie-dokie” causing the members of the show to create a new girl style jar where she has to put a dollar in every time she says it. This is such a cute part of Selena’s life that was almost identically copied by Hailey. She created her own show in the past six months and is often caught exclaiming something that Selena has been saying for years. Now I understand it’s just one word, but in the setting that it happens, my suspicion grows. In many interviews Selena is compassionate, explaining that her heart is something she wants people to know her for where Hailey copied this phrase almost verbatim.
Takeaways
While the “drama” is still going on it’s important to remember that no one truly knows what is going on except for the individuals. A lot can go on behind closed doors. With that being said, every new piece of information brings to light an ugly side to Hailey and her friends. This situation is filled with mean girl energy that Selena has been maturely ignoring, letting her silence speak volumes. She did, however, comment under a recent Tik Tok picturing Hailey rolling her eyes at the mention of Selena’s long time best friend Taylor Swift saying, “So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game”. She may let the pettiness slide when it comes to herself, but clearly will defend those she loves. When you feed into an online bully the only thing you are doing is fueling their fire, but when you protect your peace, mean words and actions backfire on them.