Lex NiksJustin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin spent to weekend in engagement bliss and while the rest of the world was watching, Selena Gomez – Justin’s on-and-off again ex – appeared without a care in the world, boating in NYC among friends. But as anyone with a relationship history knows there are mixed feelings that come with learning that an ex is moving on. Sometimes those feelings are happiness and relief, other times they are anxiety and disappointment, but given what’s been made public of Selena’s mental health and substance abuse struggles, we have to wonder, is Selena Gomez actually going to be OK?
From the beginning fans were nothing short of obsessive over Justin and Selena’s relationship status. Dubbing them “Jelena” and freaking out over every public appearance, Instagram like and comment can leave a situation warped at best. And that kind of pressure at such a young age (he was 16 and she was 18) can inflate the reality of your situation, especially when you’re at a time in your life where you’re still learning what relationships are all about.
During this time, Justin was also hanging out with Hailey Baldwin and while they were clear to state they were “just friends” who knows what actually went on behind closed doors. When Justin and Selena officially called it quits on their relationship in October 2014, it wasn’t long (one month to be exact) before Hailey started appearing more and more on Justin’s Instagram. This started the love triangle phase for these three and if we’ve learned anything from pop culture, a love triangle situation is never good.
To put it politely, Justin appeared to constantly ping-pong between the two ladies over the next few years, posting kissing photos with Hailey and playing Insta mind games with Selena – with his follow/unfollow game acting as a strong indicator of where the relationship stood these days. Even Jelena’s most recent breakup was rumoured to be largely in part to Justin’s involvement with Hailey, with TMZ reporting that Selena was less than thrilled at his attempt to rekindle a friendship with Hailey late last year. It seems that Justin flocked to Hailey whenever he and Selena were on the outs and perhaps this most recent incident was the last straw, as Selena was the one to call it off in March 2018.
Justin quickly found his was back to Hailey in a romantic sense, with the two seen kissing in NYC and vacationing in Miami and the Hamptons. And this romantic world tour peaked in the Bahamas, where Justin didn’t waste any time proposing and from the look of that ring on her finger, Hailey said yes. She finally has the one thing she never got from Justin over the years of their on-and-off again romance – confirmation of their exclusivity. While there was always zero ambiguity around whether he was exclusive with Selena in the early days of their relationship, Hailey was never vocal about the status of theirs. It was clearly a point of contention for Hailey who shared in a May 2018 interview with Time U.K. that there was a point where she didn’t speak to Justin as a result of it when she was 18 and 19.
So does this mean it is truly the end of Jelena or the Justin-Selena-Hailey love triangle? What we know is that Selena’s been on a boat, looking cool as a cucumber. Clearly she’s of the mantra that there are other fish in the sea, and here’s hoping that this positive mindset carries forward and all parties remain as happy as they appear. We’ll be sure to stay on Selena watch and follow the story as updates become available.