The Truth About Selena Gomez's Relationship With Her Mother

Selena Gomez may now be known as a world-famous singer and actor, but like many others, she's always had a special bond with her mother, Mandy Teefey. Born when Mandy was just 16 years old, Gomez grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, and was raised by her single, young mom following her parents' divorce, which happened when the future pop star was just 5 years old (via HuffPost).

"She was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to be a big responsibility," Gomez previously said, per HuffPost. "My mom gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me."

In previous years, though, the star's relationship with her mother has made major headlines, specifically due to a rumored rift between the mother-daughter pair over Gomez's past relationship with her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. Here's what we know about the seemingly tumultuous yet loving relationship between Selena Gomez and her mother Mandy Teefey.

Given that Selena Gomez first broke out into the entertainment scene as a child star on Barney & Friends before later becoming a Disney Channel star, per Biography, it's not surprising that her mother had a huge role in her career from an early age. But Mandy Teefey and her husband reportedly stopped managing Gomez's career in 2014 — and there were even reports that the then-21-year-old star had actually fired her parents from the position (via the Daily Mail).  

Teefey later addressed the rumors in an interview with Gossip Cop in 2018. "Every mother and daughter has disagreements," she said. "We never expected to manage her whole life. We lost family time because the only time we saw her, we talked business. It was no longer fun for any of us, like it was when she was younger and we had to be with her because she was a minor."

Beyond just business, though, it seems that Selena Gomez and her mother have had other major disagreements, specifically about her personal and romantic life. Mandy Teefey reportedly didn't approve of Gomez's relationship with her now-ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, telling Gossip Cop that she was "not happy" when her daughter got back together with Bieber in 2017, and saying that she hadn't talked to him "in years." In fact, TMZ even reported that Teefey was hospitalized after an alleged argument with Gomez over the star's reunion with Bieber in late 2017 — after which the two apparently unfollowed each other on Instagram (via Cosmopolitan).

Still, Teefey later emphasized to Gossip Cop that her daughter could make her own choices, saying, "Selena can live her life however she wants as long as she is happy, safe and healthy."

Fortunately, despite the seemingly tumultuous history of their relationship, it seems that the mother-daughter duo are on good terms in recent years, with Gomez even having worked with her mother as co-executive producers on the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why (via Refinery29). We can only hope that their bond will remain strong in the years ahead!