Selena Gomez has opened up about the devastating impact a series of 2018 paparazzi pictures had on her after they were published online.
In an interview with Fast Company, the 31-year-old discussed the impact of seeing the photos of herself in a black and orange bikini with her scars from a kidney transplant proudly on display while she was supposed to be spending some quality time with her friends on a yacht in Australia.
While Gomez was already conscious of how her body was changing naturally, things were amplified when trolls on social media saw the photos and started ripping her appearance apart.
At the time, the 'Lose You To Love Me' singer was on a social media hiatus, with her assistant posting on behalf of her, but she decided that in the wake of all the drama, she needed to respond to all the hate.
"The beauty myth — an obsession with physical perfection that traps modern woman in an endless cycle of hopelessness, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfil society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty," she wrote in a post on Instagram.
She told the outlet that she was already battling body image issues upon realizing that she no longer had a no longer had a "teenager’s body", but this only made things harder to stomach.
"None of the sample sizes were fitting, and that would make me feel embarrassed," she said in the interview. "Although, how unrealistic is it to expect a normal woman’s body not to change?"
What added insult to injury was the fact that the former Disney Channel star was already enduring heartache after her highly publicized break up with her on-and-off-boyfriend at the time, singer-songwriter Justin Bieber.
Just a month before the photos were released, it was reported that the 'One Time' hitmaker had already proposed to his new girlfriend, Hailey Bieber.
Of her decision to step away from social media, the star added: "I had just gotten my heart broken. I didn’t need to see what everyone was doing. Then there were those moments of not feeling positive about how I looked because of what I’d see on Instagram. 'Wow, I wish my body looked like that.'"
More recently Gomez has been pretty open with her health struggles as well as her mental health struggles.
Back in 2020, she revealed to her fans that she had been previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
"I went through a really hard season. It was my highs and my lows, and I didn’t know what to do, so I couldn’t control it," she told the publication. "I would want to cancel things. It was just a tormented feeling."
She continued: "That’s why, when I found out my [bipolar] diagnosis, it was just, 'Oh, okay, I feel a bit relieved, I understand a bit more.' I got second opinions. I went to doctors. I’m fortunate enough to be able to have people who can help me survive every day."
Not only that, but the child star had also been battling with the aftereffects of her kidney transplant, which was triggered by her lupus.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects the body's immune system and its ability to fight against pathogens.
As per Lupus Australia, with the disease, "the immune system makes an excess amount of proteins called antibodies that attach themselves to different structures of the body, which cause inflammation and pain."
On a TikTok Live earlier this year Gomez admitted that she was taking better care of herself post-operation.
"I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself," she said. "My medications are important, and I believe that they're what helps me."
In her interview with Fast Company, the Rare Beauty founder also opened up about reclaiming the decisions she makes now due to the impact of being so anxious about them in the past.
"If it ends up being a mistake, it’s your mistake to learn from. Take a lesson from that. Does it make you feel good? Does it not? Evaluate and get to know yourself as much as you can," she said. But I would never say don’t do something, because I don’t live with regrets.
"I can relate to a whole sea of beautiful human beings, because I’ve walked through some really tough moments, and now I’m on the other side," she added.