Selena Gomez could have been the one that got away for Benny Blanco, thanks to his own doing.
The music producer, 37, said he once tried to set up his fiancée Gomez, 32, with one of his friends after being convinced she “hated” him as the pair appeared on the March 24 episode of the Jay Shetty Podcast.
“I thought she hated me,” Blanco said of Gomez after explaining that the pair first met 16 years ago in a meeting set up by Gomez’s mom, Mandy Teefey, to work on a song together.
“Obviously, 99% of it was in my head,” he continued. “I was talking to her and said, ‘Oh my God, I have so many good single guy friends … We have dinners at the house all the time, you should come over sometime.’ I wasn’t even thinking about anything and we’re talking about our ideal date and this and that.”
“I want her to be in our friend group and I want to make sure this thing is smoothed out so the song goes well,” said Blanco. He shared that he and Gomez then started texting and sending each other “ugly” selfies as they became friends.
Selena Gomez on Dec. 3, 2023 (left); Benny Blanco on Oct. 4, 2023. Taylor Hill/WireImage; Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images
Gomez confessed on the podcast that she eventually did “start to fall for [Blanco]” during their message exchanges, to which Blanco replied, “I had no idea.”
When asked by host Jay Shetty how he feels about nearly self-sabotaging his relationship with Gomez, Blanzo responded, “I feel like it all happens for a reason. I feel like maybe me doing that is what disarmed her enough.”
Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez in Los Angeles in January 2024. Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images
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Blanco and Gomez announced their engagement in December 2024 after over a year of dating. Gomez confirmed the pair was dating in December 2023 when she liked and commented on fan account posts of the two on Instagram.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco in Los Angeles in October 2024. Amy Sussman/Getty
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Blanco and Gomez are currently promoting their new collaborative album I Said I Love You First, which gives “fans a unique window into their relationship,” and was released on March 21.
Per a press release, “This album came together organically … allowing them to produce art that authentically reflects their experiences. It chronicles their entire story — before they met, falling in love and looking to what the future holds.”
I Said I Love You First is available to stream now.
