Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez shocked the world by posing for a photo together after years of rumors of a feud between them.
On Sunday, photographer Tyrell Hampton posted a picture of model Hailey Bieber, who is married to Gomez’s ex Justin Bieber, smiling together with singer and actress Gomez at the Academy Museum Gala.
The event took place on Saturday at Los Angeles’ Academy Museum and saw a host of famous faces come together to celebrate the institution’s one-year anniversary.
Hampton posted the picture with the caption “plot twist,” and the comments section was immediately flooded with fans praising the snap.
The photo came just two weeks after Hailey Bieber, 25, opened up about being on the receiving end of hate on the internet from fans of Justin Bieber and Gomez’s relationship.
Justin Bieber and Gomez began dating when they were teenagers and were involved in a highly publicized on-and-off relationship. They called things off for good in 2018, months before Hailey and Justin then tied the knot in September of that year.
During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast at the end of last month, Hailey Bieber revealed how she has faced bullying from fans of both her husband and his ex-girlfriend over allegations that she was the “other woman” in Justin and Gomez’s romance.
Newsweek has everything you need to know about what Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez have said about each other before their recent picture together.
What Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez Said About Each Other Before Shock Photo
Speaking to Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper in September 2022, Hailey Bieber said there is “no drama personally” between her and Gomez, adding: “It’s all respect. It’s all love.”
When asked if she had spoken to Gomez, 30, since marrying Justin Bieber, Hailey replied, “Yes,” before adding: “That’s why I’m like, it’s all respect, it’s all love.
“That’s also why I feel like, well, if everybody on our side knows what happened and we’re good and we could walk away from it with clarity and respect, then that’s fine.”
Hailey Bieber, who owns the skincare line Rhode, noted that their chat “brought [her] a lot of peace,” and referenced the false “other woman” allegations, saying: “We know what happened. It is what it is.”
The model, who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, went on to admit that she ended up in a “really dark” place as a result of targeted attacks from Justin and Selena fans, saying she was “having thoughts of, like, it not being worth it anymore or not wanting to be here anymore.”
Hailey Bieber was questioned over whether she or her husband had ever asked Gomez to ask her fans to stop. She said they did not, explaining: “What I will say is that she has been in this industry much longer than I have, and maybe there’s something she knows about, like, it wouldn’t fix anything.”
Speaking about her online critics, Hailey Bieber concluded: “They’ve never ruined anything for me. They’re not ruining my life, they’re not ruining my happiness and that, I think, is the real win of the whole thing. You’re actually not taking anything away from me. So that’s what I keep stepping forward with.”
Then, days after the Call Her Daddy episode was released, Gomez addressed the online vitriol that Bieber has received over the years, calling the hate directed at her ex’s wife “vile and disgusting.”
She said in an Instagram live: “I think some of the things that I don’t even need to be aware of are just vile and disgusting, and it’s not fair, and no one, ever, should be spoken to in the manner that I’ve seen.
“All I have to say is, it’s incredibly ironic that I would release something that is all about kind words, ’cause that’s exactly what I want. That’s it.”
“If you support Rare [Gomez’s beauty line] I cannot thank you enough, but know that you are also representing what it means. And that is—words matter. Truly matter,” Gomez said.
Speaking about the picture of Bieber, 28, and Gomez, entertainment and lifestyle expert Valerie Greenberg told Newsweek: “I think this is very mature of both Hailey and Selena and this photo surfacing signifies they want their fans to move on and they are putting to rest any unsettled feelings they may have once had.”
Contrastingly, associate professor and pop culture expert Lauren Rosewarne of Australia’s University of Melbourne told Newsweek that despite the women’s show of unity, the photo still might not be enough to stop fans directing hate toward Hailey Bieber.
“If you’re still a ‘Jelena’ fan four years after Hailey and Justin got married, you’re probably very heavily invested and unlikely to give up on your wishful thinking anytime soon,” Rosewarne explained.
“I imagine, for example, that so many years on there are still people wanting Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to get back together. Equally, for those people who buy into a ‘homewrecker’ narrative—one where a hapless Justin Bieber apparently had no autonomy and simply allowed himself to be seduced by a temptress—then you’re unlikely to let go of that belief in a hurry.
“For casual observers, though, the idea of Selena Gomez quite literally embracing Hailey Bieber might prompt them to think well if she can forgive then I certainly should be able to.”
