Selena Gomez is opening up about why she had to “Lose You to Love Me.”

The 28-year-old singer revealed that she’s always felt “less than in past relationships” and “never really felt equal” to her significant others in a Saturday cover story for Vogue Australia.

The Disney Channel alumna’s love life has received widespread media coverage following her high-profile relationships with Justin Bieber, whom she dated on and off from 2010 to 2018, and the Weeknd, whom she dated in 2017. She’s also been linked to Nick Jonas and Zedd.

“I think most of my experiences in relationships have been cursed,” Gomez said. “I’ve been way too young to be exposed to certain things when I was in relationships.”

Gomez said feelings of inadequacy led her on a quest to fully embrace what makes her “rare,” a word that stuck out during a writing session with songwriter Nolan Lambroza for her 2020 single that celebrates self-love and individuality.

“I just said this is what I want to feel about myself,” Gomez told Vogue Australia. “So it wasn’t even necessarily like: ‘Oh, I feel that way, let me sing it.’ It was almost like: ‘Actually, I need to feel that way about myself.'”

Selena Gomez’s ‘Rare’is your new guidebook to moving on, with echoes of her past romances

“Rare” is extra significant to Gomez. It’s also the name of her 2020 album, the branding of her beauty line that launched in September and the moniker of her mental health fund, Rare Impact Fund, as she continues to be an outspoken advocate for mental health.

“I’m just really happy with who I am. I’m grateful that as I step into 29 – even just two years ago – I was different,” said Gomez, who turns 29 in July. “It’s only gotten better, and that’s kind of what people say, you know, when you get older, you feel a bit more confident with who you are. I don’t know if that’s gonna be every year for me. Maybe it is. But I just feel like I’m constantly growing in the right direction.”

Source: usatoday.com