Benny and Selena Against the World

As they get set to release their new album I Said I Love You First, Hollywood’s preeminent power couple take Mel Ottenberg inside their whirlwind romance.

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TUESDAY 6 PM JAN. 7, 2025 LA

MEL OTTENBERG: Thanks for having me over to your house, Benny. Wait, Selena, can I see your ring?

SELENA GOMEZ: Of course.

BENNY BLANCO: Oh, yeah.

OTTENBERG: Congratulations.

GOMEZ: Thank you.

OTTENBERG: What is she? I don’t know anything about her.

GOMEZ: She’s just—

BLANCO: She’s spectacular.

GOMEZ: She’s a marquise. Ever since the “Good for You” days—that was, gosh, so many years ago—that’s the diamond I’ve always dreamed of.

BLANCO: I just tried not to fuck up. That’s all I did.

GOMEZ: I don’t think that I’m anal about it, though.

BLANCO: No. But she—

GOMEZ: Don’t say that.

BLANCO: She showed me designs and I would always throw little hints. I’d be like, “Yeah, but if I ever made one, would you want it like this?” And then she changed her mind halfway through. It used to have huge baguettes on the side and then she was like, “I don’t want something that big.”

GOMEZ: I just think it’s too much.

OTTENBERG: Well, the end result is perfect.

GOMEZ: I know.

BLANCO: Yeah, so now I have extra baguettes and we’re going to make earrings for her. She basically has three wedding rings.

OTTENBERG: Sick. Okay, so there was no chick that helped you with this ring? It was like—

GOMEZ: He didn’t tell any of my friends.

OTTENBERG: Just Easter eggs from Selena?

BLANCO: Yes. We talk about everything all day so—also, I never take myself seriously, so everything I say—

GOMEZ: Is a joke.

BLANCO: Could be a joke or a real thing.

GOMEZ: All that to say, it was lovely.

OTTENBERG: How did you propose?

GOMEZ: That I want to save for our kids. It was really sweet and the right things were said.

BLANCO: It was the sickest surprise that she had no idea about and it couldn’t have come at a better time because I was starting to fuck up. The thing that makes me so crazy is, you’re getting engaged, and right before, they’re like, “Show me how good of a liar you are. Sneak around and try to do this perfect thing without me knowing.” At the end, she was starting to get upset because she was like, “Why aren’t you coming home tonight?” And I was like, “Oh, I’m just at my friends’.” I almost did it early. But I nailed it, I think.

GOMEZ: You did.

OTTENBERG: Okay. So this is your first interview together, right?

GOMEZ: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: I’m so honored.

GOMEZ: Aw.

OTTENBERG: No, I really am. So when did you first meet?

GOMEZ: It’s actually very difficult to figure out. I was around 16, 17.

BLANCO: And we first had music come out in 2013 or something. Her mom set up a meeting between the two of us. This is right when I became big and she wasn’t a singer yet.

GOMEZ: I was with Disney Records.

BLANCO: When she started putting out music, I was so into it. I feel like she was the original sad girl.

GOMEZ: Yeah.

BLANCO: Everyone was like [beatboxes] and she was like, [sings] “I just want to look good for you.” [Laughs] I was drawn to it.

OTTENBERG: You guys were pals?

BLANCO: Mm-hmm.

OTTENBERG: I’m always interested in how people start to realize they’re into each other and get over the fear of being honest about it.

GOMEZ: It was really simple. We got in the studio to work on a song and we just talked; that’s how easy it was for me. I liked him before he liked me.

BLANCO: I had no idea.

GOMEZ: I feel like you could be friends with someone forever but not know until you have that one night—

BLANCO: Yes. I literally didn’t know. We were in the session and I was like, “You should meet some of my friends. I can hook you up with some dates.” I hadn’t thought about it at all. And then we were texting afterwards and we decided to get dinner the next day. I guess she thought it was a date and I had no idea it was a date. The second time we hung out, our second date, I was like, “Wait, does she like me?” I was clueless. From then on, it was easy. You know when you think you met the right person, you’re like, “Oh my god.” But it feels so different. The second we started hanging out, I was like, “This is my wife.” I was telling my mom, “This is the girl I’m going to marry.”

GOMEZ: Aw. I never heard that.

BLANCO: She’s my best friend.

OTTENBERG: And you guys seem so fun together.

BLANCO: Dude, it’s so cool.

GOMEZ: Oh yeah, I have the best time. I’m more of an introvert that can be an extrovert, but the obligation has to be there. So it’s nice to have someone who balances that out and gets me out of the house.

OTTENBERG: Yeah, you’re like the ultimate extrovert.

BLANCO: But it’s so good because I get her out, and she calms me down when I need it. She’s the first person that I’ve been with where I’m like, “I don’t even give a fuck what’s going on. I could sit in this bed with you for 72 hours and feel like I didn’t miss anything.” She’s like my fucking heroin and Xanax combined. Whenever I’m feeling anything but perfect, she knows the exact thing to say. I’m so pissed that it took this long. It’s like, “How did we not figure this out sooner?” I’m 36 years old.

GOMEZ: Timing is everything.

 

OTTENBERG: You really nailed it. So wait. You’re a Pisces—

BLANCO: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: Pisces is my favorite sign. And you’re a Cancer?

GOMEZ: Yeah. Me and him are the same thing. We care.

OTTENBERG: I’ve been to two psychics in 2025. It’s January 7. [Laughs]

BLANCO: Good.

OTTENBERG: Both of them said I was going to fall in love this year, which I’m into because I’ve been single for five and a half years.

BLANCO: Do you want to fall in love and have a family and all that?

OTTENBERG: I have no interest in having a family, but I’m down for love. I need to get off the apps and have a person again.

BLANCO: I remember before I was with her, I was like, “You know what? I’m going to stop everything I’m doing and just focus all my energy on being a grownup and being with the right person.” Now I worship the ground she walks on and I feel like she’s the same way to me. There’s no ego between us. She’s praying for me to win and I’m praying for her to win. And I wake up in the morning—I know she does the same thing—and I’m like, “How can I make her life better?” Holding her isn’t close enough. I want to be inside of her whole body. I just feel a thing for her that I can’t even explain. I’m so sappy.

GOMEZ: It’s very romantic.

BLANCO: I just smile all day.

OTTENBERG: That’s so cute. I love it.

BLANCO: I’m so scared she’s just going to wake up and be like, “What? No.” [Laughs]

GOMEZ: You’re stuck with me.

OTTENBERG: Wow. Okay. And what’s the album called?

GOMEZ: I Said I Love You First.

OTTENBERG: Which is…

BLANCO: She said it. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: I know that from a TikTok. [Laughs] I worked with my ex. Was there a part of you that was scared to do an album together?

BLANCO: We said at the beginning, “If this ever is weird, we cancel it fucking immediately.”

OTTENBERG: Okay.

BLANCO: Because we knew what we had was so important.

GOMEZ: Yeah. I definitely didn’t feel any sort of pressure. I was maybe just nervous with jitters in the beginning, and then slowly but surely it was happening and it sort of fell into place with a lot of hard work and love.

BLANCO: We also just made it in this house. We weren’t going to a studio every day. I’d be like, “Hey, I have this cool chord thing.” Then she’d come in. We weren’t like, “Today’s the studio. We’re going to write this song and that.” So many times it was so hodgepodge. It was like two hours here, two hours there. I’d never worked that way with someone. Usually I work that way if I’m by myself, but it was so cool to be able to do that with her.

OTTENBERG: Is there a couch, like this level of comfort, upstairs?

BLANCO: There’s a bed in the room where we recorded it.

OTTENBERG: Do you lie down in the bed while you’re recording songs?

GOMEZ: I have.

BLANCO: [Laughs]

GOMEZ: Not completely lying down, but yes, I have. Normally I’m on this little chair and I have a thousand blankets on me, as I do now. I loved it. It felt very easy.

OTTENBERG: Can we play the first single? Do you have it on your phone?

BLANCO: I don’t know if I—do you have something?

GOMEZ: Of course.

BLANCO: How do you have it? You probably have a really old version.

GOMEZ: Oh, you’re going to get mad. Just let it go.

BLANCO: I love this song so much.

OTTENBERG: Me too.

BLANCO: [Whispers] She’s so good. She sounds fucking—

Waited outside your apartment
You used to come down for me
I used to feel like an angel
Now I’m a dog on your leash
Begging for more

X on my hand drawn in Sharpie
Now I use my own ID
All of the girls at this party
Are younger and hotter than me
And I hate what I wore
But I hate myself more

For thinking you were different
Wish I never loved you
We’re not getting any younger
But your girlfriends seem to

Looking for something to tell you
Looking for reasons to speak
Pictures of you at the movies
Is she younger and hotter than me?
Is it all in my head
Should have moved on instead

For thinking you were different
Wish I never loved you
We’re not getting any younger
But your girlfriends seem to

Someone else
Was I someone else?
There you were
Someone else
Someone else

Waited outside your apartment
You used to come down for me

GOMEZ: That was the first time anyone’s ever listened to a full song in any interview I’ve ever done.

OTTENBERG: I really love it. It’s fucking cool.

GOMEZ: Thank you.

OTTENBERG: I got lost in that. Okay, so I don’t exactly understand what producing music is, but I learned about it listening to your Howard Stern interview.

BLANCO: Aw.

OTTENBERG: But what’s so great about working with Benny as a producer?

GOMEZ: The fact that he listened to me. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to speak up. Most of my anxiety right now is wanting him to speak because I feel like he’s more talented than I am in this field. It’s like working with a great filmmaker. Whether we were together or not, I think he still would’ve listened to everything that I had to say, and he was able to almost transcribe it into music, into what the feeling of what I was talking about should be. And I really found that to be helpful because this album definitely feels just as much mine as I’m sure it does his.

OTTENBERG: And what makes Selena such a compelling artist to work with, as a producer?

BLANCO: I think number one, she has a top-three tone of voice. Nobody’s ever going to hear a song of hers and be like, “Oh, I wonder if that’s Selena Gomez.”

OTTENBERG: Very true.

BLANCO: And every time she’s singing, I feel it so deep. Whether she wrote the song or not, it doesn’t matter. She could sing the phone book and convince me that it’s a depressing song. The thing that Selena does that not a lot of artists do is she’s never afraid to tell the truth, even if it might not be the most popular thing. Sometimes she’s sad, sometimes she hasn’t figured out love, but she always says it in the realest way that so many people can connect with. So many pop stars are unattainable, but somehow she’s the largest person in the room and makes each person feel like she’s exactly like them.

GOMEZ: But I am.

BLANCO: Yeah, I truly think she feels that it doesn’t matter what she’s accomplished in her life, she’s just a person floating on this earth like everyone else. And I think some artists start to lose sight of that and it’s harder for them to connect to where they first came from. And I’ll tell you first, this girl’s still shopping at Target and eating Jell-O and popcorn. I find it so humbling. There’s a reason why the whole world is always rooting for her, because she’s such a sweet person. She would never say anything to try to hurt someone. She might say some things to herself that sometimes I wish she was a little bit more confident, because she is all of these things. Sometimes it’s very hard for us to see how special we really are. When someone’s an artist like that, it feels a little bit more complex and I always tend to gravitate towards artists who have such a—

OTTENBERG: It’s singing, it’s acting in a TV show, it’s acting in a movie.

BLANCO: Of course. It’s having her—

OTTENBERG: Beauty line.

BLANCO: Rare Beauty. There’s a complexity to her that’s so big and so small at the same time, and I’ve always gravitated towards artists like that, like Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey and you. It’s like, you guys are never going to say something that’s not the realest shit. And I love that.

OTTENBERG: Selena, do you have any relationship advice?

GOMEZ: For who?

BLANCO: You.

OTTENBERG: You can give it to me, but I want it for everybody.

GOMEZ: Aw. I don’t think that I have life figured out in any way. My perspective on it, in a simplistic way, is that I actually feel valued. I feel seen. I feel respected. And I think that’s all I’ve ever really wanted. I’ve kind of been alone in the world. I was alone for five years before we got together, and I think that really helped me appreciate someone like Ben. He gets so weirded out by me saying this, but genuinely, 10 years ago, I wasn’t in a space in my life where I could have accepted the kind of patience, the kind of unconditional love that he gives me.

OTTENBERG: You got any, Benny?

BLANCO: Happy wife, happy life. Shut the fuck up and listen to your partner.

OTTENBERG: Okay, okay.

BLANCO: I don’t think people listen to their partner enough.

GOMEZ: But everyone’s different.

BLANCO: I think in general, men are not listening to their partner enough. And treat people the way you want to be treated. Find your best friend and don’t settle. That’s my best friend right there.

GOMEZ: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: That’s good advice. Are you going to convert?

BLANCO: [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: She’s the most famous shiksa in the world.

BLANCO: I know.

OTTENBERG: I love that.

GOMEZ: I don’t think I’ll be doing that. Not that it’s bad.

BLANCO: No. We want our kids to have both of our values, both of our morals, and hopefully when we mix them up in a pot they’ll—

GOMEZ: Turn out good.

OTTENBERG: Absolutely. But the hora, I hope, will be at your wedding. Because I saw that you did it already. If you’re doing it at Hanukkah, it’s going to happen at the fucking wedding.

BLANCO: Of course we will.

OTTENBERG: Wait, hold on. I got to look up some questions. Please hold.

BLANCO: I’m ready.

OTTENBERG: Oh. Benny, do you ever run lines with Selena?

BLANCO: Oh my god.

GOMEZ: I don’t know if we’re at that level yet.

BLANCO: As someone who has very limited acting experience, it’s so crazy. We’ll be on our way home from dinner in New York and she’ll look at a script for five minutes and have it completely memorized.

OTTENBERG: Wow.

BLANCO: Everywhere she goes, she’s the most prepared woman—not woman, person I’ve ever met. She shows up 30 minutes early to every single thing. She’s there before any makeup artist and she’s the last person to leave if they need more shots. She can’t remember what she had for breakfast, but she’llremember a 20-page scene.

GOMEZ: That’s sad but true.

OTTENBERG: It’s incredible.

GOMEZ: Well, I—

OTTENBERG: Look, I’m like him. I think I could improvise and be myself, but I can’t remember a single line.

BLANCO: Dude, it’s insane.

OTTENBERG: I can’t even remember the questions I had to ask you guys.

GOMEZ: I think for me, there’s nothing I’ve known more. I was 7 when I started acting, and my mom would say to me, “Learn your lines. If you’re done with it, you can quit, we can be done.” But that meant she gave me the responsibility to hold this material, whatever it may be. From Only Murders [in the Building] to Emilia [Pérez] and the future projects that I have hopefully coming, I can’t not obsess over it. I’ve always loved it. And my papa will love this, but my papa always said, “If you’re on time, you’re already late.” So that’s why I tend to be early.

OTTENBERG: Whoa.

GOMEZ: But here’s the thing, it doesn’t work out for parties.

BLANCO: I know. I hate her.

GOMEZ: I feel so bad.

BLANCO: When we go to parties, I’m like, “Can we please wait?” I need to be minimum two and a half hours late. Anytime we show up to a party here, everyone’s like—

GOMEZ: They’re still setting up.

OTTENBERG: You guys, the celebrity can’t come at the time of the party.

GOMEZ: Okay, see, I understand, but that’s why I—

BLANCO: Thank you! It’s crazy. Please tell her.

OTTENBERG: Wait, I’m being real with you. I had a birthday party in L.A. and this really nice, very famous girl came on time. I’m like, “Fuck, no one’s showing up for like two and a half hours.”

BLANCO: And then you feel bad. You’re like, “Nobody’s here. I’m not a loser, I swear.”

OTTENBERG: [Laughs]

BLANCO: It’s crazy.

GOMEZ: Meanwhile, I’m like, “I get dibs on everything.”

BLANCO: She wants to be there first.

OTTENBERG: Okay.

BLANCO: Be there first, leave first. That’s her.

GOMEZ: Once it starts popping, then I’m like, “I see all the main people,” and then I’m out.

OTTENBERG: Okay.

BLANCO: I’m two and a half hours late. I’m there until they peel us off the fucking shit.

GOMEZ: Drives me crazy. But it works out.

OTTENBERG: I love it. Okay, quick questions. What was your first impression of each other when you met. Selena?

GOMEZ: The first time I remember meeting him, he was very endearing but goofy.

OTTENBERG: PDA, yes or no?

GOMEZ: Appropriately.

BLANCO: Whatever she tells me to do.

OTTENBERG: Okay. Who is the bridezilla?

BLANCO: Neither one of us.

OTTENBERG: Thoughts on destination weddings?

GOMEZ: Honestly, we haven’t even gotten that far. We want to be so happy right now in this moment.

BLANCO: Yeah.

GOMEZ: But I don’t know. That might be hard for family.

OTTENBERG: Who gets up first?

GOMEZ: Honestly, we could compete.

BLANCO: Oh my god. We’re having a full breakfast by 6 in the morning.

OTTENBERG: That’s so sick.

GOMEZ: It’s actually wrong.

OTTENBERG: I think it’s so cool.

BLANCO: But she goes to bed very early.

OTTENBERG: What time do you go to bed?

BLANCO: Be honest.

GOMEZ: I will. I go to bed around 8, 8:30. I’m sorry that your future wife has lupus and gets tired, but if we have people over, I go to sleep at an appropriate time—10, 10:30, 11.

BLANCO: That’s true.

OTTENBERG: And you?

BLANCO: I’d say on a normal work day, I’m in bed by midnight. On the weekend, sometimes I stay up and get like two hours of sleep and—

OTTENBERG: Right. But you’re still a morning man and you’re—

BLANCO: I’m a morning man no matter what. I can stay up until 5 in the morning and I wake up 30 minutes later. It’s crazy.

OTTENBERG: Wow. Pet peeves?

GOMEZ: About each other?

OTTENBERG: Yeah.

GOMEZ: I don’t really have any. Honestly, I don’t do good with compliments and he will give them to me and I’ll get very uncomfortable. Or if we try to compliment each other, I’m always like, “What are we doing?”

BLANCO: I don’t have any pet peeves.

GOMEZ: Well, there’s mine.

OTTENBERG: I’m into it. What are you guys watching together?

GOMEZ: Oh, that’s so funny. We have a list.

BLANCO: We are just about to watch—

GOMEZ: Babygirl, The Brutalist—

BLANCO: The Substance. We have a list that we’re going to see.

GOMEZ: Because we want to watch them all before the Oscars. I haven’t had time with Emilia and he’s been working on the album.

BLANCO: We love movies. What was the last one we saw in theaters, Anora?

GOMEZ: Yeah.

BLANCO: We saw that at the Vista on 35 mil. It was great.

GOMEZ: So good.

OTTENBERG: I loved it.

BLANCO: And we’re both movie buffs, but she does fall asleep to the same three shows every single night.

GOMEZ: That is my standard regular programming. Even when he’s like, “Let’s just put on Casino in the background,” I’m like, “I’m literally enthralled by what I’m watching.” It has to be mind-numbing.

OTTENBERG: What are they?

BLANCO: Tell them.

GOMEZ: It’s How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and Will and Grace. It is just comfort, purely. And I have to sleep with the noise because—my mom told me this—my dad would watch Cops on loud when I was asleep.

BLANCO: Really?

GOMEZ: [Sings] “Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?”

OTTENBERG: You need Friends.

GOMEZ: I need laughter or something cheery.

OTTENBERG: I love that. Okay, so wait, you’re such an entertainer, Benny. You’re a cook, blah, blah, blah. Do you like entertaining, too?

GOMEZ: I do. I think when it’s more so my people, I’m better at it. I got to throw something really beautiful for the Emmys and Benny helped us and I just got to invite my friends. Wouldn’t you say 70 percent of the time was making sure they were good?

BLANCO: Yeah.

GOMEZ: Sometimes when I’m not super familiar with everyone or if it’s over 40, I tend to get a little overwhelmed, but I always try my hardest to be there whenever I’m needed. I check on him because I get so worried with how much he cooks, even though he loves it.

BLANCO: We love a good dinner party.

GOMEZ: Mm-hmm.

BLANCO: A good dinner party game night.

GOMEZ: So good.

BLANCO: I don’t want to go to the club. We’re too old for that.

GOMEZ: Sorry to break it to you, I haven’t been to one in like five years.

OTTENBERG: I’m really with you.

BLANCO: I want to drink wine and cocktails and eat delicious shrimp tempura together.

GOMEZ: [Laughs] He’s the foodie.

BLANCO: Yeah, we call it sitting soft. I want to sit soft and just relax and play games and laugh.

OTTENBERG: Okay, cute. What was the first meal Benny ever made for you?

GOMEZ: Probably your steak, no?

BLANCO: Oh yeah. Oh, I think I made her a full steakhouse night. I did the whole shebang.

GOMEZ: Because his steak is probably, hands down, one of the best steaks I’ve ever had in my life.

OTTENBERG: I love steak.

GOMEZ: I’m a mashed potatoes kind of girl.

BLANCO: Yeah, she likes mashed potatoes, creamed spinach. She’s actually the easiest person to cook for.

GOMEZ: I’m a Southern girl.

BLANCO: So basically, I’ll prep all sorts of things that I know she likes and then I freeze them. So it’s like, coconut shrimp is her favorite thing—or fried okra or little chicken pot pies. So I’ll make them all and I’ll have it all ready, like little burritos or tamales and just—

GOMEZ: I wish he was joking, but—

OTTENBERG: Like a baby burrito?

BLANCO: Yeah, just like a nice breakfast. She usually has a tamale or rice and beans or a burrito in the morning. That’s her little morning at 6 a.m.

OTTENBERG: With coffee?

GOMEZ: No.

BLANCO: We don’t drink coffee.

OTTENBERG: Do you guys drink any caffeine?

GOMEZ: Sometimes I’ll do—I know everyone’s on a Celsius kick, but I can’t help but go, “Pass the Red Bull.”

OTTENBERG: You have Red Bull in the morning?

GOMEZ: Not every morning.

OTTENBERG: Oh, but I love that.

GOMEZ: It’s like when I have to do a work thing.

OTTENBERG: Okay, so it’s game time. You gotta work. It’s 6 a.m. Red Bull on ice?

GOMEZ: 6 a.m., yes. On ice.

OTTENBERG: I love Red Bull on ice.

BLANCO: I don’t even know if I’ve ever had a Red Bull.

OTTENBERG: Really?

GOMEZ: You’ve met him, he doesn’t need caffeine.

BLANCO: Yeah, I don’t need any caffeine. I’m juiced.

OTTENBERG: Yeah, you’re like that type that they think you’re on coke, but you’re like, “Babe, I—”

BLANCO: Yeah. I’ve never even done coke.

OTTENBERG: I was about to say—

BLANCO: Yeah, like my dad said coke calms him down.

OTTENBERG: Right.

BLANCO: He has the same personality as me, and my brother, too.

OTTENBERG: Okay, so Red Bull on ice and a mini burrito. That’s your breakfast of champions?

GOMEZ: Usually.

OTTENBERG: That’s amazing. I’m so glad that I asked. What’s—

BLANCO: Or chips and dip, she likes too, for breakfast.

GOMEZ: He eats egg whites with peppers and hot sauce. He’s so healthy.

OTTENBERG: Okay. When you’re chilling in L.A., what do you do? Do you leave or do you just lounge? Do you soft live—is that what it’s called?

BLANCO: Sit soft.

OTTENBERG: Do you just sit soft?

BLANCO: Like if we’re at home just the two of us?

OTTENBERG: If it’s a weekend and nothing’s going and the demands are low.

GOMEZ: I will say, we love going to friends’ homes.

BLANCO: Yeah.

GOMEZ: So we are big on going to people’s homes, supper, food. That’s kind of our vibe. We’ll go out if it’s a date—

BLANCO: We always have dates.

GOMEZ: Or double dates.

BLANCO: That’s a big thing for us. We’re not eating at, like, Catch Steak. We’re going to a hole-in-the-wall in San Gabriel Valley. We both love dim sum. We’re traveling an hour—

GOMEZ: Just for food. It’s a big outing.

OTTENBERG: Who’s driving?

GOMEZ: Look, I have a big fear of driving, but it’s safe to say I drive more than you.

BLANCO: Yeah, we’re both bad.

GOMEZ: We just aren’t good drivers.

OTTENBERG: Okay, okay.

GOMEZ: We usually like to call a service.

OTTENBERG: Got it. Driving is not either of your strengths.

BLANCO: I have a really old car and occasionally we have fun and drive it to Malibu and stuff. We love the beach.

GOMEZ: Also to go out and have a drink or two—

BLANCO: We’re going to, like—

OTTENBERG: Be responsible.

BLANCO: Yeah. And we love getting dressed up for a date.

GOMEZ: Yeah.

BLANCO: We get dressed up, we go out, get fancy martinis. We love a theme. It’s like, “Oh, tonight we’re going to wear a suit and she’s going to wear a nice dress.” But then also we love, “We’re going to wear sweatpants and go see a movie.”

OTTENBERG: Do you guys style each other for these dates?

GOMEZ: No.

BLANCO: No, but we’ll pick a thing—

GOMEZ: Actually, sometimes. I’ll just ask him to pick me something out. And it’s usually a combination of his clothes and my clothes.

BLANCO: If we’re cozy.

GOMEZ: Oh, yeah. Never for an actual date. I don’t care if he hates my outfit, I’m going to wear what I want to wear. But whenever I want something cozy—

BLANCO: We love a cozy date. We love going for walks. Just normal shit.

OTTENBERG: Disguise?

BLANCO: Depends.

GOMEZ: If we go to the farmers market, I’ll put on a mask. But it’s not like we’re upset by—

BLANCO: A hoodie and a mask will stop most things.

GOMEZ: Yeah, it’s not a big deal.

OTTENBERG: Do you guys have a song?

GOMEZ: No, we’ve had playlists.

BLANCO: Yeah, we have a few—

GOMEZ: We’ve had a few good songs that we like, but it’s not really one song that makes us like, “Oh.”

BLANCO: There’s a few.

GOMEZ: Which ones? “Love Will Keep Us Together.”

BLANCO: Yeah. “Say a Little Prayer.”

GOMEZ: Yeah.

BLANCO: Also, [sings] “One step.” Aretha Franklin.

GOMEZ: Yeah, Aretha.

BLANCO: We like old songs, Ella Fitzgerald. And then we’ll also listen to a lot of records and have friends over and it’s just—she actually keeps me up on the pop. She was playing Chappell Roan like a year and a half before it was a thing.

OTTENBERG: Right.

BLANCO: She’s very good at that stuff. I’m listening to old school shit.

GOMEZ: It’s either that or other genres that I’m completely dense in, so. It’s fun to exchange information.

OTTENBERG: Do you have any new pop songs that you’re into that no one knows about yet?

GOMEZ: Right now, no. I’ve actually been working—

BLANCO: She’s been working so much.

GOMEZ: All I can answer right now are questions about Emilia Peréz.

BLANCO: She literally had to come back from vacation early because it’s like, “Oh, it’s time for work again.”

GOMEZ: But it’s good.

BLANCO: Yeah, it’s fun.

GOMEZ: This is probably the most exciting time for me in my career and personal life, like genuinely.

OTTENBERG: Yeah. You got it going on, girl. And Emilia Peréz is so good.

GOMEZ: Thank you. It’s transcended into something that’s more of a gift than anything, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

OTTENBERG: Is there some kind of dream role that you want to try?

GOMEZ: I think my goal has always been to find characters that viscerally move me as an actor, especially after this experience. I don’t need to be the lead. I will never be one of those actors. I just cherish and love filmmaking and storytelling, it’s one of my greatest joys in life.

OTTENBERG: Benny, what’s your dream project?

BLANCO: Dream for music?

OTTENBERG: Yeah. This seems like a dream project for you guys, but what else?

BLANCO: I was so stuck before this. I didn’t know what I was going to do next and this was such a cathartic experience and a way to get back into it. I never put stuff out just to put stuff out. I wait until the perfect thing happens and I’ve been blessed to work with so many fucking good artists, including you. I feel like all my dreams came true. I feel like this was one of the last dreams, finding the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. I know it sounds so corny and cheesy.

GOMEZ: It’s so cute.

BLANCO: That’s the dream. I already did everything I really wanted to do in music; everything else is just fun. It’s been like that for a while and I feel like I’m making my best stuff because there’s no pressure. I’m just having fun and doing things because I love it.

OTTENBERG: Any advice to the kids at home that want to do you?

BLANCO: They want to have sex with me?

GOMEZ: [Laughs] What? Do you?

OTTENBERG:[Laughs] No, that want to make music. We don’t need to talk to them about that.

BLANCO: [Laughs] I spent a lot of my early years before I made it trying to emulate other people, and the second I started being myself and trying to figure out what I have to offer the world—I’m never going to be as good as getting a Timbaland beat or getting a Neptunes beat, but I can make my own thing that’s weird and quirky. My copy of someone else is never going to be as good as the original, so I had to find what my original was. And if you make something, don’t be precious. Put it up online. The point of entry is so much easier now. When I started, there was no TikTok, there was no Instagram. I used to just stand outside of a studio and when someone walked outside I’d be like, “Do you make music?” Person who’s reading this right now, you’re going to hear so many nos for so long, but eventually those nos will turn to yes if you keep working hard.

OTTENBERG: Anything to add, Selena?

GOMEZ: What I want more than anything in the world is for people to listen to the music that we created and feel themselves in it. “Younger and Hotter” is a song that felt very appropriate to me being in the industry and always knowing there’s something shinier or better out there that people want. Sometimes you can lose yourself in that, and I think my only tip would be that there’s no one in the world like the person that’s reading this right now. And that’s what has gotten me through everything. I wish I was kinder to myself and I wish that I had been more confident in the fact that I am capable and I am worthy of all these things that are coming into my life—no matter what my background is.

OTTENBERG: I really dig it. Thanks guys.

———

Hair: Jesus Guerrero at The Wall Group.

Makeup: Hung Vanngo at The Wall Group.

Nails: Tom Bachik using Click Colors by Tom Bachik at A-Frame Agency.

Grooming: Christine Nelli using Bumble and Bumble at Forward Artists.

Set Design: Nicholas Des Jardins at Streeters.

Movement Direction: Anna Collins.

Tailor: M’Lynn Hass.

Market Direction: Lucy Gaston.

Digital Technician: Michael Preman.

Photography Assistant: Timothy Shin.

Fashion Assistants: Jaiin Kang and Greer Heavrin.

Hair Assistant: Nikki Oidem.

Makeup Assistant: Alisa Yasuda.

Grooming Assistant: Jamie Maloney.

Production: The Morrison Group.

Production Management: Ernie Torres.

Production Assistants: Jai Wilson and Emma Soviero.

Post-production: Two Three Two.

Location: Hubble Studio.

Special Thanks: Hubble Studio.