Selena Gomez says she plans to become a mother at age 35 and will likely turn to surrogacy or adoption.
“I’ve never said it, but unfortunately I can’t have children,” the 32-year-old actress, singer and beauty brand executive revealed in a Vanity Fair cover story in October. “I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s life in danger. That was something I had to grieve about for a while.”
In July, Gomez received her first Emmy nomination in the acting category for her portrayal of Mabel Mora in the Hulu comedy “Only Murders in the Building.” The Disney-raised actress also appears in “Emilia Perez,” a Spanish-language musical starring Zoe Saldana, set to premiere in select theaters and on Netflix in November.
“It’s not necessarily how I imagined it,” she said, referring to starting a family. “I thought it would happen like it happens to everyone else. [But] “I am in a much better position in that regard. I consider it a blessing that there are wonderful people willing to offer surrogacy or adoption, which are two huge possibilities for me.”
Prior to her current relationship with longtime collaborator and prolific producer Benny Blanco, Gomez was single for five years. This period, she says, helped her prioritize her family and prompted her to evaluate how she could start one of her own.
The “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress opened up about pregnancy to Rolling Stone in 2022, saying at the time that her bipolar medications made having a child unlikely, adding, “It's a very, very important and present thing in my life. … I'm meant to have them, though.” [children]I will do that.”
By the age of 20, the artist had been to four treatment centres for mental health issues. In 2019, she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder after suffering an episode of psychosis.
“I think when I started to turn 20, that’s when everything started to get really dark, when I started to feel like I had no control over what I was feeling, whether it was really good or really bad,” Gomez told Rolling Stone. “There’s something about me, which maybe is my bipolar disorder, that somehow keeps me humble, in a dark way.”
In addition to her struggles with bipolar disorder, Gomez has battled lupus. In 2017, Gomez received a kidney transplant as a result of the chronic autoimmune disease. Despite a lifetime of health issues, the recent winner of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival's Best Leading Actress award says she remains grateful and excited about the future.
“I’m excited about what that journey will be like, but it will be a little different. At the end of the day, I don’t care. It will be mine. It will be my baby,” Gomez said.
