Selena Gomez is finally breaking her silence on her friend, Demi Lovato.
In the October issue of Elle, Gomez talks briefly about Lovato, who was briefly hospitalized and is now in a treatment facility following an apparent overdose in July. The interview took place just six days after the news broke, and Elle contributor Mickey Rapkin notes that Gomez was visibly choked up when speaking about her friend.
"All I’m saying is, I reached out to her personally,” Gomez tells the magazine. "I didn’t do a public thing. I didn’t want to. I… I love her. I’ve know her since I was seven. So… it’s… that’s what I’ll say."
Lovato and Gomez, both 26, grew up together on Barney and Friends before transitioning into teen Disney stars. Though they’ve had their ups and downs, they reunited last October at the InStyleAwards after publicly praising each other on social media.
Gomez recently took a step back from the spotlight to focus on herself and prepare for her next album, which will be out later this year.
"Right now, I feel very sure of where I am. I don’t feel erratic or emotionally unstable,” she says. "Or, like, I can’t handle my emotions like I used to. It’s kind of understanding myself a little more. By all means I don’t have myself figured out. But it feels good.”
Gomez goes on to play Rapkin a few songs off her upcoming album, and fans are sure to speculate the tracks are about her ex, Justin Bieber, who recently got engaged to Hailey Baldwin.
Ripkin reports the first song she plays for him is about cutting a man out of her life after "1,460 days” and "cleaning my slate."
"Without you,I don’t overthink it," she croons. “I’m drunk and I might as well tell you. Get you ooh ooh ooh out of my head now.”
She then describes another song on the album, "Flawless," as "meaning through all of your imperfections, you’re flawless."
"You’re not striving. It’s me encouraging a younger version of myself," she continues. "Even when you’re imperfect, even when you’re feeling worthless, you are flawless. It’s a song I’m going to sing for the rest of my life.”
Gomez wows in the stunning outdoor shoot for Elle, showing a new confidence. The October issue of the magazine hits newsstands on Sept. 25.
