Selena Gomez Sets the Record Straight: New Album With Benny Blanco Has 'Nothing to Do' With Ex Justin Bieber

Selena Gomez has taken a definitive stand against speculation that her new album, I Said I Love You First, shades her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber.

During a revealing chat alongside fiancé Benny Blanco, she clarified that the tracks are not a trip down memory lane on her highly-publicized past relationship with Bieber, who she dated on and off until 2018.

"Anytime I release anything the interpretation is going to be up to the audience. However, I would like to say that most of this album has nothing to do with what everyone may go to,” the 32-year-old singer articulated in an interview for Spotify’s "Countdown To I Said I Love You First" on March 19.

Gomez elaborated, "I’ve evolved so much and I have experienced life with new people. I’ve had to go through transitions with friends and lose people in my life and gain new people and I’ve had a whole new life forever."

She insisted that the tracks stem from their shared "pasts" and the relationships around them.

Fans dissecting Gomez's lyrics are convinced that some songs hint at her rocky romance with the 31-year-old pop star. Particularly, in "You Said You Were Sorry," Gomez croons about an unnamed ex: "Don’t think about you/Happy without you/More now than I ever was."

The chorus reveals more emotional turmoil, as she sings: "But I had a dream/You said you were sorry, said you were sorry/Sorry for everything/That you put on me, that you put on me."

Other tracks such as "How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten" and "Don’t Wanna Cry" sparked similar suspicions among die-hard fans.

One social media user mused: "Selena Gomez dropping an entire album shading Justin Bieber is exactly what I’d do if I was a singer," while another chimed in with, "Selena Gomez writing about Justin Bieber with her current fiancé is kinda crazy but the songs are great so..."

For the record, Gomez and Bieber's on-and-off romance spanned a rocky eight years before ending for good in 2018. That same year, Bieber began dating Hailey Bieber (previously Hailey Baldwin), igniting an ongoing fan feud that still continues to make headlines today.

Despite his marriage to Hailey in 2018, theories about Justin not getting over Selena are rife on social media.

In a delightful twist of fate, Selena confirmed her romance with Benny in December 2023, shortly before he proposed just a year later. Sharing her joy on Instagram, she dazzled fans with her engagement ring, proclaiming, “Forever begins now...”