Selena Gomez has admitted that she thought she would be married by now, so she threw a wedding-themed birthday party for herself instead.
In a cover story for Rolling Stone published on Thursday 3 November, the actor and singer shared new details about her star-studded 30th birthday party last July. “I thought I would be married by now, so I threw myself a wedding,” she revealed.
“I grew up thinking I would be married at 25,” she added elsewhere in the interview. “It wrecked me that I was nowhere near that – couldn’t be farther from it. It was so stupid, but I really thought my world was over.”
According to Gomez, she celebrated the end of her twenties by inviting people who had played an important role in her life over the last decade. The guest list included Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, Billie EIlish, Olivia Rodrigo, her kidney donor, Francia Raísa, and her little sister, Gracie.
The party, for which Gomez wore a pale pink floor-length Versace gown, took place at a private home in Malibu. The celebration also paid homage to Gomez’s career beginnings with a birthday cake resembling Barney from Barney & Friends.
“We had lovely drinks, and it was beautiful, and then my friend Cara [Delevingne] comes in and brings strippers,” Gomez recalled while laughing. “So I would like to say it was a mixture of sophisticated and hysterical.”
Following the extravagant birthday party, Gomez shared a candid Instagram message reflecting on the milestone. “My twenties were a journey through good, hard and beautiful moments that I will never forget. Each of them has shaped me into the person that I am today,” she captioned the post.
“I am someone who is still learning, but is more certain about what matters and what she wants. Someone who is grateful for every single gift and every single lesson along the way,” she wrote. “I want to try my best to take the beautiful and the painful one day at a time and let it all make me into the very best me that I can be for myself/others/you.
“After a few days of celebrating, my heart feels full, grateful and I can say that I’m starting to really like 30. Thank you SO much for being a part of my life, here’s to another decade!”
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Gomez also opened up about her experiences with bipolar disorder, after she was first diagnosed in 2018. Ahead of the release of her documentary My Mind & Me, which hits Apple TV+ on 4 November, Gomez revealed that she’s been to four treatment centres for her bipolar disorder.
“I think when I started hitting my early twenties is when it started to get really dark, when I started to feel like I was not in control of what I was feeling, whether that was really great or really bad,” she said.
The Disney Channel alum explained that her mental state would “start with depression” and “then it would go into isolation.”
“Then it just was me not being able to move from my bed. I didn’t want anyone to talk to me. My friends would bring me food because they love me, but none of us knew what it was,” she added. “Sometimes it was weeks I’d be in bed, to where even walking downstairs would get me out of breath.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
