Francia Raisa is giving us a candid look into her friendship with Selena Gomez, and it seems that the two are in a good place despite rumors and speculations. The 35-year-old actress shared insights about their relationship, its ups and downs, and more during an interview.
To provide some context, Francia famously donated her kidney to Selena in 2017, and they had been friends for years prior to the life-saving transplant. However, things seemed a bit uncertain when, in 2022, Selena mentioned in an interview that Taylor Swift was her only friend in the industry. This led to speculation about a possible feud between Selena and Francia, especially when Francia avoided addressing her current relationship with Selena.
But this summer, fans were delighted to see Francia and Selena photographed having dinner together, sparking hope that they were spending time together once again. And now, at Selena’s Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit Supporting Youth Mental Health, Francia cleared the air, confirming that their friendship is still intact.
Speaking to Extra, Francia recounted how she and Selena first crossed paths during their Disney Channel days:
“When I was on ‘Secret Life of the American Teenager,’ she was on ‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’ Disney had the stars of their shows go to Children’s Hospital and visit all the kids… She was in my group. She came up to me and was like, ‘My mom had a teenage pregnancy, she was 16 years old, and we love your show.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God thank you, I love your show.’ We started talking, we both had boyfriends at the time, we started kiki-ing… Around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up, and her and her boyfriend broke up, she called me and was like, ‘I am going through some stuff… I am going through a break up.’ I was like, ‘Girl, me too,’ and we were just inseparable after that ever since.”
She opened up about how they became friends and the dynamics of their relationship:
“We trauma bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky… People grow, relationships change, obviously I treat her like my little sister she treats me like her older sister… I don’t know any relationship that’s perfect… When our situation came up… No, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it. I am happy that we are here today celebrating and supporting each other.”
Francia also shared a heartwarming moment from when Selena turned 30:
“I am a different person today than I was last year or even when I turned 30, I’m 35 now, even when Selena turned 30, I’m like, ‘It’s different, isn’t it?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Welcome to your 30s. Now we can get to know each other again.’”
And regarding whether their separate journeys had anything to do with the kidney donation:
“Sometimes I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow. We had to almost go on our own journey and grow. Now I am really happy in my career now and my endeavor. I don’t know if I would be able to do that if I didn’t really take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me because I wasn’t okay.
I am okay now, and just for the record, it had nothing to do with the kidney. I went through a lot in my childhood, and I will be talking about it very soon… She has been such a huge support through all of that.”
