Updated article on 20/08/21: Selena Gomez has opened up about the mental and physical health issues she's battled in recent years while living in the public eye.
In an interview with ELLE US, the singer discussed her bipolar and lupus diagnosis, as well as her kidney transplant and undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
'My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks — these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,' she told the publication.
'Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with? You’re going to help people",' she told herself. 'That’s really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn’t strong enough, and would have done something to hurt myself.'
The singer opened up about her bipolar in 2020 during a conversation with Miley Cyrus on the singer's 'Bright Minded' Instagram series. 'I wanted to know everything about it and it took the fear away,' she said of learning about the mental health disorder which, according to the NHS, affects a person's moods, which can swing from one extreme to another.
In 2017 the performer received a kidney transplant from her best friend, Francia Raísa, and has proudly showed off her transplant scar on several occasions on social media.
Speaking to Billboard magazine that year about how she felt after the surgery she said: 'I just kept thinking about how much my body is my own. [After the surgery] I had this sense of gratitude for myself. I don't think I've ever just stopped and been like, "I'm actually grateful for who I am."'
Original article published on 21/11/17: A day after performing at the AMAs, Selena Gomez has taken to the stage once again to discuss her ongoing battle with Lupus.
Last night, the 25-year-old singer delivered a heartfelt speech at the Lupus Research Alliance's Breaking Through Gala in New York City wearing a dramatic yellow one-shouldered dress and a pair of embellished yellow and silver sandal heels.
On stage, the 'Fetish' singer said: 'I am really honoured to be here with all of you guys tonight, my Lupus community.
'As many of you know or might not know, I was diagnosed with Lupus about five or six years ago.'
Earlier this summer, the Texas-born star underwent a kidney transplant, given to her by friend Francia Raisa - an experience which she says truly put into perspective how life-threatening her autoimmune disease is.
Explaining that when she learned of her Lupus Nephritis diagnosis she was warned she may one day need a transplant, she revealed: 'Maybe I wasn't necessarily really good at knowing what that meant so it actually got to a point where it was life-or-death.
'Thankfully, one of my best friends gave me her kidney and it was the ultimate gift of life. And I am doing quite well now.'
The singer, who recently broke up with her boyfriend The Weeknd and is now rumoured to have rekindled her romance with former beau Justin Bieber, also revealed that there's a three to five per cent chance her Lupus will return.
With her arthritis now gone and a marked improvement in her blood pressure and energy level, the star thanked her doctors present at the gala for their support.
'It feels good to actually be honouring people like you or in my world it could seem kind of vain, but this is really, really special,' she said.
'Not everyone is lucky enough to have a donor, and something as monumental as an organ transplant shouldn't be the best treatment option available.'
Concluding her speech, the star added: 'I'd like to see the day when all young women can realise their dreams of life without a Lupus.
'This is why I am committed to the Lupus Research Alliance. So that none of us are alone, especially the young women that I have grown up with and heard many, many stories.
'I just want to say thank you and I hope we can do something for all of the younger people who need to know what this means.'
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
