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Selena Gomez and her husband, Benny Blanco, opened up about managing her bipolar disorder as a couple, offering a heartfelt glimpse into their journey together.
During a recent episode of Blanco’s podcast, “Friends Keep Secrets,” Gomez joined a conversation with Blanco, his closest friend Lil Dicky, and Lil Dicky’s wife Kristin Batalucco, to discuss her mental health challenges. The former Disney Channel star candidly shared her experiences with bipolar disorder, describing the diagnosis as “f–king complicated,” and revealing that her path to understanding the condition involved consulting multiple therapists and attending four different rehabilitation programs.
Benny Blanco, 37, contributed to the discussion by reflecting on how he witnessed his wife experiencing moments of “mania,” a term they both came to understand over time. “She’ll start to realize she’s having it after, and sometimes she doesn’t even remember when it’s happening,” he explained. He emphasized the complexity of the situation, noting, “It’s such a delicate thing because you’re not supposed to technically talk to the person about it while they’re deep in it, and even dating her, she’s, like, so hyper-aware.”
Blanco, 37, jumped in and said his wife would sometimes have moments of “mania” and didn’t know what they were at the time.
“She’ll start to realize she’s having it after, and sometimes she doesn’t even remember when it’s happening,” he shared. “It”s such a delicate thing ’cause you’re not supposed to technically talk to the person, really, about it while they’re deep in it, and even dating her, she’s, like, so hyper-aware.”
“She’ll be like, ‘I think I’m feeling a little manic.’”
Gomez, 33, said she wasn’t ashamed of having manic episodes, and that recognizing them for what they are meant she could identify them quicker.
“But it is helpful to have a partner that will understand where maybe the temperature is at, and meet you where you are, and then you kind of gradually understand what’s happening,” she said of Blanco.
Gomez also shared that getting diagnosed allowed her to live life “freely,” and that it’s helped her understand her reaction to things.
“I would act out of fear and I would act out of love, I’d act out of passion, it was all inconsistent,” she recalled. “It was crazy.”
The “Hands to Myself” singer first revealed her bipolar disorder in 2020, after having a public breakdown in 2018.
Back in October 2024, she said she surrounds herself with only one or two people she trusts when she’s having a bad mental health day.
“Sometimes isolating myself when I’m not feeling great can be scary. I think all these thoughts,” she said during an Instagram interview with influencer Rami Bader. “But if I’m around people that make me feel good, and make me feel like I can say anything, that always helps me.”
She told Vanity Fair in September 2024 that she’s now been “properly medicated,” and she also uses temperature — which can include cold water and space heaters — as a “healing mechanism” during physical and mental health flare-ups.
Depending on her needs, the pop star said she found varying temperatures “soothing at different times.”