Selena Gomez Reveals That She Can’t Carry Her Own Children
Selena Gomez is opening up about how her health issues have shaped how she plans to start a family one day.
In an interview for the October issue of Vanity Fair which was published on Monday, the star of “Only Murders in the Building” revealed she is unable to carry her own children due to medical reasons.
“I haven’t ever said this ... but I unfortunately can’t carry my own children,” Gomez told the magazine.
“I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s in jeopardy,” said the star, who lives with both lupus and bipolar disorder.
While the actor, singer and founder of Rare Beauty admitted she struggled after learning she wouldn’t be able to carry a pregnancy, she told Vanity Fair that she is now “in a much better place.”
“That was something I had to grieve for a while ... It’s not necessarily the way I envisioned it,” she said of parenthood. “I thought it would happen the way it happens for everyone.”
In 2015, the former Disney Channel star revealed she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus. She underwent a kidney transplant two years later after contending with serious complications from the condition.
Gomez has also been frank about her mental health over the years.
During a 2020 episode of Miley Cyrus’ Instagram Live show, “Bright Minded,” she opened up about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition with a number of factors that can impact people’s pregnancy plans.
Though there is an array of effective medications to support people living with bipolar disorder, many of them have the potential to cause issues during pregnancy.
Research published by the National Institutes of Health lists preterm labor, heart defects, developmental delays or neurobehavioral problems among the concerns.
While learning that carrying her own pregnancy might not be possible was difficult for Gomez, she told Vanity Fair she is grateful to know paths like surrogacy or adoption could help her start a family one day.
As she explained, “I find it a blessing that there are wonderful people willing to do surrogacy or adoption, which are both huge possibilities for me.”
“It made me really thankful for the other outlets for people who are dying to be moms,” Gomez added. “I’m one of those people.”
“I’m excited for what that journey will look like, but it’ll look a little different,” she went on. “At the end of the day, I don’t care. It’ll be mine. It’ll be my baby.”
Though the “Same Old Love” singer doesn’t have immediate plans to start a family, back in May her boyfriend, music producer Benny Blanco, said the couple regularly discusses the possibility of having kids together one day.
“It’s always a topic of conversation to me every day,” he said during an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show.”
