Here's What We Know About Selena Gomez And Hailey Bieber's Relationship

You may have seen the image circulating lately of Selena Gomez and Hailey Baldwin Bieber posing together, which seemed to confirm that their alleged "feud" was fake and sent the internet into a frenzy. Many fans were relieved to see there was no bad blood between the two influential young women, and other stars in Hollywood sent their praises to both Bieber and Gomez.

According to E! News, Ava Phillipe, Reese Witherspoon's daughter, gushed over the photo, writing on her Instagram story, "I'm not one to get wrapped up in celeb drama & at the end of the day, it's really just a pic (& none of my business!) But it does make me smile to see these boss babes out there setting the record straight. Love + respect for you both!"

Fans were happy to see that Hailey and Gomez, two women the internet has pitted against each other ever since Hailey was linked to Justin Bieber, actually had no reason to dislike one another. So what got them to this point — and why has the media been so consumed with creating a constant competition between these women for so many years?

To really understand the so-called "bad blood" that was thought to be between Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez, we first have to go back to where it all started. Justin and Gomez were first linked in 2011.

According to People, the Disney star and singer claimed their relationship was not romantic at first. Gomez was 18 at the time, while Justin was 16. They had met in 2009, but it wasn't until 2011 that the pair made their relationship official by appearing arm-in-arm at Vanity Fair's Oscars after-party. That was the beginning of a seven-year on-again, off-again relationship between the two stars.

After a brief split in 2012 due to "trust issues," as a source told People, the pair reconciled. This kicked off a couple of years of breaking up and getting back together. When Justin released his hit song "What Do You Mean?" in 2015, fans were quick to spot Gomez's name spray-painted on a wall in the music video. He sings, "First you wanna go to the left then you wanna turn right / Wanna argue all day, make love all night," seemingly hinting at the ups and downs of his and Gomez's rocky relationship.

Gomez released her album "Revival" and gave an interview to Billboard in 2015. When discussing her new chapter, she said that she and Justin were not on speaking terms. "This is my time. I've deserved this. I earned it. This is all me," Gomez said.

In an interview with GQ in 2016, Justin Bieber gave fans an honest look into his relationship with Selena Gomez at the time. "We don't talk often, but we're cordial. If she needs something, I'm there for her. If I need something, she's there for me," he said.

Justin was then rumored to be linked to Sofia Richie, Lionel Richie's daughter. When Justin started seeing Sofia, he got upset with fans for sending her hate, threatening to delete his account if people didn't leave Sofia alone, per People. Gomez responded to Justin's behavior by commenting, "If you can't handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol — it should be special between you two only. Don't be mad at your fans. They love you." Justin commented back, "It's funny to see people that used me for attention are still trying to point the finger this way. Sad. All love. I'm not one for anyone receiving hate." Gomez got in the last word, writing, "Funny how the ones that cheated multiple times, are pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive, no wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love."

Justin has also been linked to stars like Miranda Kerr and Barbara Palvin. Gomez has been linked to The Weeknd, Nick Jonas, Taylor Lautner, Orlando Bloom, Zedd, Niall Horan, and Charlie Puth. After Gomez's breakup with The Weeknd, she was back with Justin from October 2017 to March 2018.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin first met backstage at "The Today Show" in 2009 when Hailey was only 14 years old, per Elle. In 2011, Hailey even tweeted her support of his relationship with Selena Gomez. In 2014, Hailey and Justin began frequenting the same social circles.

The pair was spotted together multiple times before becoming official, even before Gomez and Justin's last-ever breakup. Dating rumors were sparked in 2014, but the two denied they were ever "exclusively together," despite Justin posting Instagram posts of him and Hailey together.

In January 2016, Justin posted a photo of him and Hailey kissing at a New Year's Eve party. In the months that followed, they had a whirlwind romance, going everywhere from Miami to New York City to the Hamptons. Fans were quick to judge Justin's new relationship, saying he was moving on from Gomez way too soon.

In July of 2018, word spread that Hailey and Justin were engaged (via People). Justin proposed at a restaurant in the Bahamas, where it was reported that security made everyone put their phones away because something special was about to happen. The proposal reportedly happened on July 7, and Justin posted about the engagement two days later.

He wrote in an Instagram post, "Was gonna wait a while to say anything but word travels fast, listen plain and simple Hailey I am soooo in love with everything about you! So committed to spending my life getting to know every single part of you loving you patiently and kindLY ... My heart is COMPLETELY and FULLY YOURS and I will ALWAYS put you first! You are the love of my life Hailey Baldwin and I wouldn't want to spend it with anybody else."

Famous friends were quick to offer congratulations to the couple. Justin's longtime manager Scooter Braun, Millie Bobby Brown, Paris Hilton, Marshmello, Diddy, Madison Beer, and Ariana Grande were just some of the celebs who wished the couple well with their newly announced engagement.

Justin and Hailey Bieber were married a few months after their engagement. In September 2018, they wed in a New York courthouse, per Brides. The pair decided to have a second wedding a year later, at the end of September 2019.

The couple booked the Montage Palmetto Bluff hotel in South Carolina for their extravagant wedding, via Page Six. Fans went crazy for Hailey's wedding gown, a custom piece by Virgil Abloh's Off-White. Her veil was stitched with the phrase "Till Death Do Us Part." Guests included model Kendall Jenner, Scooter Braun, Alfredo Flores, Joan Smalls, and Justine Skye, as well as members of the Bieber and Baldwin families.

Although the wedding was a successful day, there was still some controversy surrounding it, as the couple had tied the knot at the courthouse after just three months of being engaged. Not to mention, Hailey was only 22 years old at the time, which had some fans questioning her motives. However, the pair appears to be going strong. In an interview with Apple Music's Ebro Darden this year, Justin said it hasn't always been easy. "It's a journey. I remember when I first got married, I hit a little bit of an emotional breakdown because I thought marriage was going to fix all my problems and it didn't," Justin said. "It just kind of was a reflection of like, man, you're a bit of a hypocrite, man" (via Insider).

For years, fans of Selena Gomez and Hailey Baldwin have been shady toward each other, with both receiving hate online. After the Met Gala in 2021, fans camped outside the venue to see Justin and Hailey walk the Met red carpet, per Bustle. When the couple arrived, the fans started chanting Gomez's name. The couple continued to pose for pictures on the red carpet and then Hailey asked her team for a pair of sunglasses to put on. According to Bustle, she seemingly put on the sunglasses to hide the fact that she was visibly upset about the hateful chants. Justin seemed to mouth to her "don't cry" as they continued to pose.

In another example, after the 2019 release of Gomez's hit song "Lose You To Love Me," fans thought Hailey was being disparaging about the song and started to send her hate online. Gomez stepped in and talked in an Instagram livestream. She said, "I am grateful for the response the song is getting, however, I do not stand for women tearing women down. ... I will never, ever be by that, so please be kind to everyone. It doesn't matter what the situation is, if you're my fans, don't be rude to anybody, please. Don't go off and say things that you just feel in the moment. Please, for me, know that's not my heart."

Alex Cooper, the host of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that was formerly owned by Barstool, asked Hailey Bieber to speak on the podcast. Hailey, who usually doesn't do interviews, had her fans extremely interested as to why she decided to do the podcast. She spoke about her previous mental health struggles, her four-year marriage to Justin Bieber, and even the rumors that she "stole" Justin from Selena Gomez all those years ago.

"I can say, period, point blank, I was never with him when he was in a relationship with anybody — that's the end of it," Hailey told Cooper in her interview (via People).

Hailey also told Cooper that she even spoke to Gomez after the wedding and that there were no issues between them. Beyond that, she offered no more details about their conversation other than that the two do not have any bad blood between them. Hailey said, "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 added that she respects Gomez and her career and that any perceived drama between them is not real.

In a complete shock to the internet, Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez posed for a picture together at the second annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 15 (via Elle). This was a monumental moment that shocked fans and other celebrities — in a good way.

While hugging and posing for photos, Hailey and Gomez showed solidarity against the haters who have been plaguing their social media accounts and pitting them against each other for years. Gomez wore a black suit and Hailey wore a chocolate brown dress with cutouts. They posed multiple times together. In one image, the pair is sitting down and Gomez's hand is resting on Hailey's leg. They looked comfortable and happy together.

Tyrell Hampton posted the images he took of the pair on his Instagram with the caption "plot twist." Both Gomez's and Hailey's fans freaked out in the comments. E! News even commented, "This is herstory" on the post.

As for the future, Hailey Bieber will continue to focus on her skincare and beauty line, Rhode Skin, which took TikTok by storm this year. Similarly, Selena Gomez continues to work hard on her popular makeup line Rare Beauty. Gomez is currently working on her fourth studio album, according to PopSugar, and she is also continuing her work with the Netflix series "Only Murders in the Building." Hailey is continuing her modeling career as well, although she is taking a break from runway modeling.

Hailey and Justin celebrated their four-year wedding anniversary in September 2022. Gomez's relationship status is currently unclear, but in August 2022 she was linked to filmmaker Andrea Iervolino.

Hopefully, Gomez and Hailey will continue to be on good terms in the future, and their fans will refrain from expressing negative opinions on social media.