Singer-actor Selena Gomez got candid about her past relationships and didn't hold back when it came to discussing the lessons she learned from her dating life.
As per People magazine, the 28-year-old star recently opened up about her relationship history in a candid interview with Vogue Australia.
"I think most of my experiences in relationships have been cursed. I've been way too young to be exposed to certain things when I was in relationships," she said.
"I guess I needed to find what was that word for me, because I felt so less than in past relationships, and never really felt equal," Gomez continued.
The singer explained that her love for the word "rare", which has now inspired a song, a tattoo, and her makeup company, came from personal growth.
She added, "So that word to me - when I first heard it I just said this is what I want to feel about myself. So it wasn't even necessarily like: 'Oh, I feel that way, let me sing it.' It was almost like: 'Actually, I need to feel that way about myself.'"
Gomez dated Justin Bieber on and off from 2011 to 2018. She was also romantically linked to The Weeknd in 2017.
Since then, the Disney alum told Vogue Australia that she is now "surrounded by real people," and reflected on the development she would like to see for herself from here.
"I'm just really happy with who I am. I'm grateful that as I step into 29 - even just two years ago - I was different," she said.
Gomez added, "It's only gotten better, and that's kind of what people say, you know, when you get older, you feel a bit more confident with who you are. I don't know if that's gonna be every year for me. Maybe it is. But I just feel like I'm constantly growing in the right direction."
She dropped 'Rare' in 2020, her first album in five years, and fans immediately started speculating about whether some of the tracks were about her ex Bieber after their on-and-off relationship, or The Weeknd, whom she briefly dated.
Gomez has also been linked to Nick Jonas, and Zedd in the past.
The singer jokingly said in September that all her exes think she's "crazy," during a YouTube video with NikkieTutorials. "It's hard in quarantine. This is also not an invitation," she said of her dating life.
"It's just funny, because I release things that say 'I want a boyfriend' and stuff, and people say that, and I'm like 'No, I didn't mean that,'" Gomez added. "Guys are a lot of work. Every one of my exes think I'm crazy, so I don't care."
The singer has since said that she's focusing on her mental health. "I'm a work in progress. There's still so much that I'm figuring out," she said in December. "It's okay to be frustrated or have a hard day."
Gomez added, "I'm at the point where I'm starting to care less about what others think and more about what I feel. I also don't read comments or [Google myself]. People think I'm lying but I find my life to be easier that way. Life is much bigger than some little comment."
On the work front, Gomez is set to appear in the Hulu series, 'Only Murders in the Building', and a sequel to her popular 'Transylvania' movie franchise.
The star has also been focused on music. Following the release of her 2020 album 'Rare', the artist turned her attention to the Latin music world this year with her first Spanish-language EP 'Revelacion'.
The singer's 'Revelacion' includes seven songs 'De Una Vez', 'Buscando Amor', 'Baila Conmigo', 'Damelo To', 'Vicio', 'Adios' and 'Selfish Love'.
Gomez had released the EP's first single 'De Una Vez' in January 2021 and followed it up with 'Baila Conmigo' with Rauw Alejandro.
