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Jay Shetty PodcastJay Shetty Podcast

‘’This is How I KNEW He Was the One!’’ - Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco EXCLUSIVE

Jay sits down with global superstar Selena Gomez and acclaimed music producer Benny Blanco where they share their love story like they never have before. Join me for the first-ever On Purpose Live Tour! Tickets and Limited VIP packages are on sale now - https://www.jayshetty.me/tour. I hope to see you there! In this interview, we discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:10 Male Friendships Can Be Challenging 03:01 First Meeting & Deep Conversations 08:48 How It All Started 16:32 Opening Up to Love Again 18:57 It All Happens for a Reason 21:08 Finding Genuine Love 27:13 Be Kind to Yourself 33:37 Don’t Let Negativity Dictate Your Life 37:55 Cultivating Relationships with Trust 48:22 This is How Emotionally Mature Relationships Work 57:08 The Proposal 01:05:29 Wedding Planning 01:06:26 Recording an Album Together 01:13:17 Future Family Plans 01:18:03 Selena and Benny on Fun Questions Episode Resources: https://www.instagram.com/selenagomez/ https://www.instagram.com/itsbennyblanco/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/jayshetty https://www.facebook.com/jayshetty/ https://x.com/jayshetty https://www.linkedin.com/in/shettyjay/ https://www.youtube.com/@JayShettyPodcast http://jayshetty.me

Jay ShettyhostSelena Gomezguest
Mar 24, 20251h 33mWatch on YouTube ↗

Summaries, chapters, transcripts, and FAQs on this page are made by uListen, not YouTube.

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 1:10

    Intro

    1. JS

      I want to go back to the first time you ever met.

    2. SP

      [upbeat music] Selena Gomez.

    3. SG

      Thank you so much for-

    4. SP

      Benny

    5. SG

      ... one of the greatest-

    6. SP

      Thank you.

    7. SG

      I'm Selena, but we're watching Disney together.

    8. SP

      When you're a pop star like she is, and you're a huge entity, and people set up all these walls before, and then the first second you, like, disarmed everybody. By the way, congratulations on your engagement.

    9. JS

      When you first were meeting and recording together, there was a sense of you were protecting yourself. What gave you confidence to open up? [gentle music]

    10. SG

      What I felt for Benny, it was everything about him was honest. He'll tell me anything that he's feeling, and it made me feel like I could do the same.

    11. SP

      If we would've met each other when we were younger, it would've never worked. We've both grown as individuals and met at the perfect time, and I believe life is like that.

    12. SG

      When Benny looks at me, I don't think he sees anything but who I am, and that's very rare to find, but when you do know, it feels right.

    13. JS

      You talk about being best friends so much. Was it scary thinking,

  2. 1:10 – 3:01

    Male Friendships Can Be Challenging

    1. JS

      "What are we gonna lose if this gets romantic?" [gentle music]

    2. SP

      The number one health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay Shetty. [laughs]

    3. SG

      Oh my gosh.

    4. SP

      Oh, my love.

    5. SG

      I'm so happy to be here.

    6. JS

      You know I love you both, and-

    7. SG

      I know. We love you

    8. JS

      ... it's such a fun, like, coming together. When this, when you guys called me and said you wanted to do this, I was just like, "How special is it that we first met now seven years ago, and then because of you, I got to meet this amazing man," and I feel like we've kicked off a bromance.

    9. SG

      [laughs]

    10. JS

      And, uh-

    11. SG

      That makes me happy

    12. JS

      ... yeah, and it, and because of you, I just feel like we've been spending so much time together, and so I'm so grateful to you both for trusting me and over the years and the fact that you've been on, you've been on, and now we get both of you. It's like-

    13. SG

      Thank you

    14. JS

      ... it's so special.

    15. SG

      You're, it's a very, um, safe, cozy place.

    16. JS

      Benny and Selena.

    17. SG

      Hi.

    18. JS

      [laughs] Welcome back to On Purpose for the first time together.

    19. SG

      Yes.

    20. JS

      I am so grateful to you both. It's been a joy getting to know you both over the last few years, and I am so happy for you both.

    21. SG

      Thank you.

    22. JS

      Like, this is just so beautiful and special, and because of you, Selena, I got to know Benny so much more. And Benny and I have been hanging out. We've been meditating. We've been-

    23. SG

      I love that

    24. JS

      ... eating. We've been-

    25. SG

      That makes me-

    26. JS

      ... doing-

    27. SG

      ... really happy

    28. JS

      ... [laughs] but it's thanks to you. It's thanks to you for bringing us together and-

    29. SP

      I-

    30. JS

      ... I was, I was just saying as a man, it's so hard to make male friendships as you get older-

  3. 3:01 – 8:48

    First Meeting & Deep Conversations

    1. SP

      ... Larry David always says this. He says, "I have friends that I'm not even friends with. I've just been friends with them for so long, I can't let them go because they're already built in. It's like a therapist. They already know everything. You can't teach a new person."

    2. SG

      That's hilarious.

    3. JS

      Selena disagrees.

    4. SP

      I-

    5. SG

      It's not necessarily that I disagree. I, I guess I just always thought that guys have this immediate, like, "What's up?" And then they're just, like, in a flow, so I just, I don't know. I found that interesting.

    6. SP

      Yeah, I feel like you get guarded as you get older a little bit.

    7. JS

      Yeah.

    8. SP

      Sometimes I wish I weren't as wise because when you-

    9. JS

      [laughs]

    10. SP

      I, I'm not wise at all, but I'm saying, like, it's like when you listen to something ... Like, for me, for music, I listened to things when I was, like, 18, and I was like, "Oh my God. I didn't know any of the rules. I wasn't thinking of anything." It all comes so easily because you're not confined to, like, this box that you've put yourself in over the years. And then by the end, you're like, "Oh, uh, you know, I'm 36, almost 37 now." I'm like, "Oh, I can't do that."

    11. JS

      [laughs]

    12. SP

      And it's, it's like, it, there's-

    13. JS

      Yeah

    14. SP

      ... there is some sort of freedom to being really young too.

    15. JS

      There, there definitely is. There definitely is. But I was, I was saying that watching both your love story, and I know you were saying, Selena, two seconds ago, you're like, "This is such a safe and cozy space to come to," I'm hoping that today we get to know your love story on a deeper level.

    16. SG

      Aw.

    17. JS

      And we get to access really what's in your hearts and minds because I think there's so many interviews and so many things that kind of all touch on the surface level of stuff, but I hope we can go deeper. So what I want to start with is I want to actually rewind.

    18. SG

      Mm-hmm.

    19. JS

      And I want to rewind to a place where we don't retell the story, but we get to relive your story with you.

    20. SG

      Right.

    21. JS

      And I think there's a difference because when we tell a story, it's like, "This is what happened," but when we relive it, it's almost like going back to who we were when that happened. So I want to go back to the first time you ever met, and I want to hear about it.

    22. SG

      Well, the funny thing is, is we actually, it was so long ago that we don't remember.

    23. JS

      [laughs]

    24. SP

      We, we d- we know that her mother put us in a meeting together when ... How old were you?

    25. SG

      16.

    26. SP

      So she was 16.

    27. JS

      Wow, I didn't realize it was that long ago.

    28. SP

      And, and, and well, I'm like four or five years older than you, so I was probably 20, 21. And her mom was trying to get her into music, and her mom is, uh, amazing the way she g- goes from room to room, gets things to ha-

    29. JS

      We've had her on the show.

    30. SP

      Yeah.

  4. 8:48 – 16:32

    How It All Started

    1. SP

      like, one of my guys who did the song.

    2. SG

      Oh, and you came to fix it.

    3. SP

      Yeah, and I, like, came to help out because I was like, "Oh, I want their song to..." I was like, "I don't like the way this pro- Let me just at least help them." I said, I was like, "Well, I'm not sure if it'll be okay, 'cause I don't know if Selena likes me or something." And then John Janick, the, you know, the president of Interscope, he was like, "Well, why don't you just go into the session? Uh, she usually doesn't have people in, but just go in. And, like, if there is something that you feel is weird, like try to just smooth it over and talk to her and get in." And I said, "Okay, I'm gonna go smooth it over." So I went in. It, it was so funny. Right before I came, her engineer told me, like, later, that she was like, "Ugh, Benny's coming."

    4. JS

      [laughs]

    5. SP

      And she was like-

    6. SG

      And here's our reasoning. I'm gonna defend myself.

    7. SP

      Yeah, you should.

    8. SG

      I get very nervous around the producers watching me sing.

    9. SP

      Of course.

    10. SG

      It's just a very intimate thing for me. I feel like I need to sound a certain way or do whatever to make them happy. And when I get to record with just me and my engineer and maybe someone I trust, I get more out of the experience. So I just was thinking, "Okay, well, maybe he'll stay for 10 minutes, and we'll just talk for a second." And 10 minutes turned into, like, 30. Then he went to the other room, and I finished recording, and he stayed there, and then, yeah. This is too long. [laughs]

    11. SP

      No, no, so, so, okay.

    12. JS

      No, no, no, I like it.

    13. SP

      So here, so from my perspective, here's what happened. I get in there.

    14. SG

      I'm like, "Oh, my God."

    15. SP

      And I'm like, "I gotta smooth this over."

    16. JS

      I love this back and forth. It's great.

    17. SP

      Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, "I don't have this with anyone." Like, I, I was like, "I want us to be chill." And obviously, 99% of it was in my head. And, uh, a- and I come in. We just started talking about life, and her, uh, A&R's there. One of my friends is there. And we're just, we're talking about life, and we start talking about dating, and I was like, "Yeah, you know, I went out on this date," blah, blah, blah. And then I, I was talking to her, and I said, "Oh my God, I have so many good single guy friends." I was like, "We have dinners at the house all the time. You should come over sometime." And I wasn't even thinking about anything. And we're, like, talking about, like, our ideal date and, like, this and that. And I wanted to make sure she did the line right, so I was like, "Oh, I'll stay there to, like, make sure it's good after." And then, um, so I did. We left, and then-

    18. SG

      You text me

    19. SP

      ... I, I, yeah, I didn't have her cell phone number 'cause I, she changed her number a bunch. So like, I, like, asked someone. I said, "Hey, uh, give me her cell phone number. I wanna say, like, uh, you know, tha-" And I, I wrote, I was like, "Oh my God, you were..." And, and, and during that, I, when I was with her, I was like, "Oh my God." I was like, "Not only, she's, like, really cool." I was like, "I want..." I was like, "I wanna be, like..." I was like, "I want her to be, like, in our friend group." And I wa- couldn't even be thinking. I was like, "I want her to be in our friend group, and I wanna make sure this thing's smoothed out so the song figures out, goes well and everything." So I said, "Let me just text her thank you or whatever." And I was like, you know, "You were so sweet" or something, something like that. And then she writes back. I guess we just were texting throughout the day, and she w- she told me, she looked back at our messages. She said s- somehow you started sending, like, uh, selfies where you looked really bad on purpo- like the worst ones in your phone.

    20. SG

      Yes. We were talking about-

    21. JS

      Oh, you started to do this?

    22. SG

      Yes.

    23. SP

      Yeah.

    24. SG

      Which by the way, no girl should really be in, or anyone in their mi- right mind, to someone they would have a crush on do that. But we were talking about ugly photos, like, 'cause I always say I take the worst photos sometimes, and He's like, "Oh, you said something," and I sent him the worst pictures of me. Like, s- and s- like, in bed sick, and then, you know, me at weird photo shoots. And now looking back on it, I'm, [laughs] I'm just thinking, "That's, these are so weird. I don't know why I sent it."

    25. SP

      Wait, did you like me in that moment yet or not yet?

    26. SG

      Yeah.

    27. SP

      Oh, you did. Okay. So I di-

    28. JS

      That's what I was trying to figure out, yeah

    29. SP

      ... I had no idea. So I had no idea. And somehow we decide-

    30. JS

      So wait, why did you do that if you liked Benny? Why were you sending-

  5. 16:32 – 18:57

    Opening Up to Love Again

    1. JS

      [laughs]

    2. SP

      And then, and then basically the rest was history, and we started hanging out so much. And it just, like, very quickly, I was like, "Oh my God." My whole life, I was like, "Oh, this is, I, this is my person. Like, I'm gonna marry this person. This is, oh, this is the thing. This is what it feels like." It was so different than any of those feelings, and I was like, "Holy shit, I just, I met my best friend. This is my best friend. Nothing gets any better than this. It can't get better. There's no, I, th- this is my, this is, like, better than any friend I have that's a guy and I get to kiss them."

    3. JS

      [laughs]

    4. SP

      Like, it was like, it w- it was insane to me.

    5. JS

      [laughs]

    6. SP

      So I was like, "I can't let this go." I, I, a- and it, it was so funny because before I met her, I, with my therapist, I had made a list-

    7. SG

      Hm

    8. SP

      ... saying, like, "These are all the things I want. I'm tired."

    9. JS

      Tell me the list.

    10. SP

      You wanna know it?

    11. JS

      Yeah, I wanna know the list.

    12. SP

      Okay. Okay, okay. So before I met her, you know, I was a guy in, in, in LA trying to find the one for me, and I was having some trouble. And I, and, and, and I think I was, like, maybe not looking in all the right places. And I was like, "Okay, it's time to be a grownup. Like, I wanna, like, start a life. I wanna have a family. I wanna find a person that, like, is my other half, that makes me feel better and I make them feel better and it's, it's, it's a give and take. It's the perfect yin and yang." So I wrote down a list, and the first thing on my list was age appropriate, okay?

    13. JS

      [laughs]

    14. SP

      So that w-

    15. JS

      I love that.

    16. SG

      That's great.

    17. SP

      And, and it was 30 plus, okay?

    18. JS

      Got it.

    19. SP

      So that was number one on my list.

    20. JS

      Yes.

    21. SP

      Not number one, but it was the first thing I wrote.

    22. JS

      Yeah.

    23. SP

      And then the second thing I wrote was, I said, "I know these are so simple, but it's so hard to come by. Somebody who's kind, compassionate, and caring." I was like, that's really three in one, but that was my... But I was like, "I need someone who's, like, nice and is, like, a genuine nice person."

    24. JS

      You said something really important. The reason I'm bringing it up is because I feel a lot of women, but a lot of people feel this way, and you said when you first were meeting and recording together, there was a sense of you were protecting yourself.

    25. SG

      Yes.

    26. JS

      And I think that's a very human thing, and I think it's a very normal thing in- especially in this day and age, especially in your position to add to it. What was it that, you know, at one point you said,

  6. 18:57 – 21:08

    It All Happens for a Reason

    1. JS

      "I'm gonna adopt at 35 if I don't find someone." Like, you had your whole life mapped out when you met Benny, but then... And you said you were protecting yourself, but then you started to open up. Could you walk us through what gave you confidence to open up, but what that feels like when you're trying to protect yourself? Because I think that's the push and pull that everyone's going through.

    2. SG

      Well, I think first of all, making plans and trying to stick to them is silly-

    3. JS

      [laughs]

    4. SG

      ... 'cause you don't know what's going to happen, and I can't believe that I get to marry my best friend, so. It- but yes, I, I think for me I was genuinely set, but it was once I let go of me just saying I want someone and I wish I had this and I wish I had that, instead I changed my mind to, I'm so lucky that I get to wake up and my family's healthy, and I love spending time with my friends. And you know what? If it doesn't happen, I know that I've always wanted to be a mom and, you know. So of course I kind of planned that out. I think it was because when Benny looks at me, I don't think he, he sees anything but who I am, and that's very rare to find. He knows when I'm feeling a certain way and kind of before I can even let it get to a place of where it's unbearable, he has already talked me through the spiral. And protecting myself on multiple reasons, you know, doing, you know, doing music, working with someone that's kind of, you know, like, oh, I don't know if I should do that. But I genuinely just wa- it just happened. I think when you know, and oh, that's so cheesy to say, but when you do know it feels right. Um, I think that, that's what happened to me, and I just felt very comfortable with him.

    5. JS

      Yeah. Benny, how do you feel that you almost sabotaged your relationship by nearly introducing Selena to your friends?

    6. SP

      [laughs]

    7. SG

      [laughs]

    8. JS

      How does that feel? Like, when you're like, "Hey, wait a minute, come and meet my friends. There might be some nice guys for you to meet." [laughs]

    9. SP

      I

  7. 21:08 – 27:13

    Finding Genuine Love

    1. SP

      feel like it all happens for a reason.

    2. JS

      Yeah.

    3. SP

      I feel like maybe me doing that is what disarmed her enough to, like... You know, it's, we talked about this before, like, if we would've met each other when we were younger, it would've never worked. It's like we've both grown as individuals and met at the perfect time, and I believe life is like that. And sometimes it doesn't make sense, and sometimes it's not the right reasons and we're like, "Why is this happening?" But I always believe that, I, you know, I don't know. I believe in fate. I believe in all that. And I believe, you know, if you're good to people karmically, it's gonna come back to you-

    4. JS

      Mm-hmm

    5. SP

      ... 10 times over. Maybe you might get in that moment and someone's gonna do you really dirty, but over a long period of time, I think things are gonna go your way.

    6. JS

      Yeah. Was it scary because you, you talk about being best friends so much, was it scary thinking, "What are we gonna lose if this gets romantic, as friends?"

    7. SP

      No, no. I knew right away.

    8. SG

      No, it happened.

    9. SP

      It happened right away.

    10. JS

      It happened quick and on point. Yeah. [laughs]

    11. SP

      This was all one day. That was one day. Like, like, everything really happened within... And then look, there wa- at, uh, once we knew that we liked each other, there's that part where like, you know, we're both extremely busy people, so it's like, it takes a second to where you fully prioritize, you know. 'Cause it's like, at first you date someone, you say, "Okay, well, I'll see you this time once a week." And then it's like, "Ooh, okay, this person's getting cool. We'll go twice a week." Then it's like, "Wait, don't leave my house. I miss you."

    12. JS

      [laughs]

    13. SP

      Like, it all happened so quickly.

    14. JS

      One thing that you both did was you had a long distance relationship for a while, like you were in different states-

    15. SG

      Yes

    16. JS

      ... and managing that. You both have crazy work schedules. And I was thinking, in your positions it can get very easy to be like, "Oh, that person's never available. They canceled again." Like, or, "They've got a million things. They're running away." I mean, you were just about to say you both are starting to travel together right now for work as well, but how did you manage that? 'Cause I think a lot of our viewers are like, "Do long distance relationships work, and do two busy people relationships work?" How would you both say you've managed both of those parts?

    17. SG

      Biggest thing in the world is trust. Um, I can say with m- all my heart that I trust this person. Um, so for me, knowing that I have a 12 to 14-hour day on set, I won't get to talk to him every second, which I don't need, but I know just hearing from him one time, check in with me and say, "I love you, and I hope the day is going well," I just feel safe, and I've never felt that before. And if you feel like you're in a situation that doesn't feel like you're a unit, that makes it scarier, and then that causes friction, then it causes trust issues. So for me, I would have to say communication and trust helps, but it, it doesn't always work. It's hard.

    18. SP

      I feel like at the beginning there were a few, uh, almost, almost s- sabotages. She didn't, like, she was like-

    19. SG

      That's fair

    20. SP

      ... at the, at the very beginning in, like, her first few trips away, she was still gaining that trust. So there was, there were moments-

    21. SG

      Of sincere doubt.

    22. SP

      No, yeah, yeah. And we all have-

    23. JS

      Yeah, that's normal

    24. SP

      ... we, we all have moments in our life because, like, we're only made up... I tell everyone this, it's like- When you, when you start dating someone, you're not only dating them, you're dating every single person they've ever dated, every single relationship they've ever had in their past, every... Because you're getting every piece of baggage that that person's carried and that, what they've learned through their own personal life, through the life with partners, with their parents, with this, that. Um, I had to find a way to build that trust with her, not make it feel overbearing, and make it feel real, and make her actually believe it, and vice versa. Like, I know that she fully tru- If I say, "Hey, I'm just going to do this today," there's nowhere in her mind that's thinking that. And if for any chance that she... I always told her, I said, "It's okay. If you have moments of doubt in something, in a feeling, always talk to me and I'll talk you through anything that you may have." You know, if you say, "Hey, I know this is a crazy thing. I just had a dream and I woke up from this dream and I was upset." Sometimes she'll just say like, "Please tell me I can trust you," or, "Please tell me you're not-

    25. JS

      Hmm

    26. SP

      ... doing anything stupid." And I say, "You can call me anytime you want." And, and I'm aware of her strengths and I'm aware of her weaknesses, and what I try to do is surround her with a lot of things to help her. So if she's away and I have to go to a dinner, then a party, then this thing, then that thing, it's a simple text in between each things that says, "Hey, babe. I'm going to this next thing. I'm thinking about you." Hey, you know, you know, where, where couples, where it starts to hit is when they miss that text. They don't call the person. They wait until the next d- Like, it's just like I know what she needs to succeed, so I'm gonna help her succeed. I'm not gonna be a dick. I'm not not gonna hit her up, and she doesn't need a lot. She's like the easiest person in the world, but I know, yeah, she wants to talk to me before she goes to bed. She wants me to say, "I love you." She wants me to text her if I wind up having to stay somewhere two hours late. Just a, just a simple take out your phone and ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. Done. And, and I know that, know I know that stuff really helps, especially when you're long distance because it's natural. You're far away from someone. You say, "I'm not with this person. I'm not as connected to them." We're not, we're not meant to be far... You're not supposed to be-

    27. JS

      Hmm

    28. SP

      ... long distance with your partner. You're supposed to be right next to your partner.

    29. JS

      [laughs]

    30. SP

      Like, it's like, it... We do things in life that, that we have to do, and we both are very focused on our careers and we're very driven, and you have to find a way to make

  8. 27:13 – 33:37

    Be Kind to Yourself

    1. SP

      it work that's comfortable. You have to talk to your partner. You have to understand them. I think people's biggest problems, especially men, are that we don't listen all the time. You gotta listen. Just shut the [censored] up and listen. Listen to what they're saying. They're... A, a woman is gonna tell you exactly what she needs. Like, when guys are like, "I don't know what she wants. I don't know." She told you already. You're just an idiot. You're not listening. Just listen. A girl is t- A, a, if a girl is getting frustrated with you on something, she's definitely told you multiple times-

    2. JS

      [laughs]

    3. SP

      ... and you're just not paying attention. Um, so it's like just listen and don't be reactionary. Proactively do these things. I don't know if you do the same thing, but when that, when you're away from your partner, you just try to think of little things that's gonna make them feel more comfortable, better.

    4. JS

      Yeah.

    5. SP

      You know? I'm, I'm, on the other hand, I'm like living on the moon, so it's like she doesn't have to really do anything [laughs] for me.

    6. JS

      [laughs]

    7. SP

      'Cause I'm like, I'm all in on, on everything with her, and I fully trust her in every capacity, and my whole life I've always been like this. I trust everyone until they give me a reason not to.

    8. JS

      Yes.

    9. SP

      Okay? And I trust people to be who they are.

    10. JS

      Hmm.

    11. SP

      Okay? And so far, I know who she is, so until further notice-

    12. JS

      [laughs]

    13. SP

      ... that's how I'm gonna treat her. You know what I'm saying?

    14. JS

      Yeah.

    15. SG

      Yeah, I totally get that.

    16. JS

      Yeah.

    17. SP

      That's my thoughts on it.

    18. JS

      No, I love that.

    19. SG

      It's the character that gets judged. It's the way I'm not white enough, I'm not Mexican enough. There's just these so many different things that come up in, in my face that I can't help but see. It just doesn't feel safe, and I don't like being myself sometimes. That's a bigger problem than just talking about it in a relationship. I was very reactive. I think that's why I was alone for five years, 'cause I really needed to collect myself. I think in the past, that's why I say to him all the time, "And 10 years ago, it's not that I wouldn't have wanted to be with you. I just wouldn't have been in the right head space."

    20. SP

      I remember there was a time we didn't want this to be, like, a public thing because, unfortunately for Selena, her life is, is always under the spotlight, being scrutinized at every moment, and this and that, and for good, for bad. Um, I remember sitting with her, and we'd been seeing each other, you know, secretly for months and months and months, and, and we were about to go to New York, and we just made a conscious effort that we were like, "We don't wanna do this anymore. We wanna be able to go out and have fun, and, like, and, you know, just live our lives." And at that point, I knew that it was serious enough to dive in. Like, like, that I was like, "Okay, I don't care what comes with this because I love this person so much already" that, like, we literally said I love you on that trip.

    21. SG

      Yeah. It's-

    22. SP

      She had already said I love you to me a few times.

    23. JS

      Okay, wait. So the album, [laughs] I Said I Love You First.

    24. SP

      Yes.

    25. JS

      So Selena, you said I love you first.

    26. SG

      Yeah.

    27. SP

      Yes, she said it a few-

    28. JS

      What, what made you wanna say that, because that's a big step, I assume.

    29. SG

      I definitely have never been the first. [laughs]

    30. JS

      So this is the first time in your life you were the first?

  9. 33:37 – 37:55

    Don’t Let Negativity Dictate Your Life

    1. SP

      lucky.

    2. JS

      And Radhi will just pull the funniest face in the world.

    3. SP

      She does the same thing.

    4. JS

      Like, yeah. I was like, how do you react when, when Benny-

    5. SG

      Um

    6. JS

      ... is telling you all these amazing things, Selena? What do you say?

    7. SG

      Because I, I say... Now, let's be honest. I also am equally grateful, and I tell him that all the time.

    8. JS

      Mm-hmm.

    9. SG

      I, I just, it makes me feel like it's not real, and I'll, like, sometimes I'll be like, "This seems too good to be true." Like, he's so sweet to me, but now I've accepted it. I think I, I actually love it so much that it just makes me want to give him that support and that love back. So, um, it's safe to say I feel much safer doing that now, and I like it.

    10. JS

      I think so many people feel that when someone's that nice, and that's coming from someone who's like that myself with friends, family, and obviously with my, with my wife too, a lot of the time that's seen as a weakness. Like, people kinda look down on it when someone's that open about their feelings. Especially, I get asked that a lot when I'm giving relationship or dating advice. People will be like, "Oh no, but if, if I come on too strong, people get turned off." What this time was different for you, where it's like he- he's, he's being really affectionate, he's being really open, but there's a part of you that realizes that's what you want and that's what you deserve?

    11. SG

      Because the world has become so hard to please, if you will. I'm called fake, I'm called... I, it's, it's insincere, it's fake, all of this. Like, it just doesn't feel safe, and I don't like being myself sometimes, and that's a re- that's a bigger problem than just talking about it in a relationship. Because it makes you feel like you have to question the way you're acting, and I genuinely, yeah, I have really bad days and sometimes I don't have the energy to do what I'm doing, but I try 99% of the time to be kind and to just be happy and grateful for what I have, and that just almost isn't cool anymore. And I hope that that conversation can kinda start eventually, because it's not, it's not good. I wanna always be that person that I was, but it gets harder and harder. What I felt for Benny, it was, it was everything about him was honest. It wasn't just that he was honest with me, he was honest about where he was at in life and, um, he'll tell me anything that he's feeling, and it made me feel like I could do the same. But he's the one person, you know, and you're saying those nice things to me, babe, it's, like, so sweet that I believe him, to where I'm not gonna believe someone who is blowing smoke up my- But to just make me feel good. He's saying it 'cause he means it.

    12. JS

      Mm-hmm.

    13. SG

      And I believe it.

    14. JS

      Yeah. That's beautiful. That honesty that someone has in every area of their life, including their bad days, their tough days, their challenging days, then when they're saying that-

    15. SG

      Yeah

    16. JS

      ... whether their day's good or bad and they feel that way, it resonates with us. I think we all, we all sense that. And I, I, I love what you said. I think it's so important that we make it cool again to care for people and be cared for, and we make it cool again to love people and feel loved, and we make it cool again for people to be kind and-

    17. SG

      Yeah

    18. JS

      ... to receive kindness.

    19. SP

      I feel like it's like a macho thing. Like guys-

    20. JS

      Yeah

    21. SP

      ... guys are always trying... It's like stop trying to be cool. Like, it's like guys try to be so cool and, like, they don't want... I think it's cool to show your emotions. I think it's cool to tell your, the person, like, I call my mom and, up and I tell her how beautiful she is, too. Like, and I, I, I think it's cool to make people feel good. I think it's cool to, like... You know, I just feel like people, like, are trying to push people down a lot sometimes, like, to make themselves feel better. But you look so much cooler and so much better if you're making other people feel good.

    22. SG

      Yeah, but it's not even that you would look better.

    23. SP

      No, I know.

    24. SG

      You'd feel like a better person.

    25. SP

      That's what I'm saying, though. But it's like I don't understand why people, like, choose not to do that. And it's like-

    26. SG

      Yeah. It's, uh, it's something I'm very passionate about, something that I

  10. 37:55 – 48:22

    Cultivating Relationships with Trust

    1. SG

      do want to start talking about more. I wanna be a good example. I'm not the perfect person. Lord knows I've made tons of mistakes, and continue, and will continue to.

    2. JS

      Yeah.

    3. SG

      But I think it's important that we talk about that.

    4. JS

      Yeah. I'm really glad you both raised it, because I think so many of us are actually accepting less than we deserve-

    5. SG

      Mm-hmm

    6. JS

      ... because we want what's cool, not what we deserve.

    7. SG

      Yeah.

    8. JS

      And that's a really interesting thing.

    9. SG

      Like me explaining to you right now, I wanna change my whole approach to anything because of w- like one thing that I did. Like, that's so... I don't wanna have to change who I am. Like, that was hurtful, for sure.

    10. SP

      I don't ever wanna do, I don't do any of that. Like, when some people... I don't care what's going on.

    11. SG

      No, he's great at that, which helps me not care as well, but-

    12. JS

      What do you mean?

    13. SP

      I don't care about what anyone says. I don't care about comments. I don't care about press. I don't care about inter- I don't care about what anyone says. I just try to-

    14. SG

      And I love that.

    15. SP

      Yeah, I just try to like-

    16. JS

      Have you always been that way?

    17. SP

      Yeah.

    18. JS

      What, what made you that confident? 'Cause I think a lot of people need to hear that.

    19. SP

      'Cause it's like this. Okay, why are you reading the comments, okay? There's two reasons. You're either reading the comment because you want people to be like, "Oh my God, I love you," mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah.

    20. SG

      Validation.

    21. SP

      Or you want someone to say, "You piece of shit. You're ugly. You look like shit." You know what I'm saying?

    22. SG

      True, true.

    23. SP

      And it's like... And you don't need either one of those answers. I rather just freefall through life, and I don't need to know any of that stuff. And I don't, I've never even read an interview back ever that I've ever done. I don't look at the pictures. Like, I ask my manager, I say, "Hey, did I say something stupid in the interview?" And if he says yes, I say, "What did I say that was stupid?" Or I say, "Okay, great."

    24. JS

      [laughs]

    25. SP

      If it's something... Like, I don't wanna know. There's always gonna be someone trying to bring you down. Hating is free, okay? So people are gonna be hating all over the world. They're gonna be hating from their bedroom. They're gonna be... And I just don't even understand it. I've never even thought in my mind to, like, to, like, go on someone's page and be like, "Jay, that shirt's ugly.

    26. JS

      [laughs]

    27. SP

      Why'd you wear that? Those stripes look like shit, Jay." No, I never even thought about that. Like, if anything, I write, like, "Oh my God, I love this show, Jay." Like, I, I... and I just don't think... We live in this weird world where people seek validation in so many different ways.

    28. SG

      That's fair.

    29. SP

      And I don't think we need... And I know it's hard. I know it's hard, and people want it, and you wanna read the comments. You wanna look at it, but I just don't think I'm gonna gain anything from it. In that time I could be looking at those comments, I could be hanging out with my friends, or like going on a walk, or eating something delicious-

    30. JS

      Mm.

  11. 48:22 – 57:08

    This is How Emotionally Mature Relationships Work

    1. SP

      we're both highly independent people, okay? But we're both little mushes who just need to be attached at the hip.

    2. SG

      Yeah. We are so cheesy. It's so fun.

    3. SP

      [laughs]

    4. SG

      Yeah.

    5. SP

      But it's like, but I feel like, I think it helps us, too, that we're both... You know, on my list, a thing was I wanted someone to be driven and inspired by something. I didn't care if they made any money or anything. I just wanted someone to be so into something that they did every day. And- When she comes back from her day and she tells me what she did, I'm like, I'm not sitting there like, "Yeah, mm-hmm, mm," like when you're talking to your mom. You know when you're talking to your mom and you just say-

    6. JS

      [laughs]

    7. SP

      Your mom just keeps talking and you go, "Yeah, uh-huh, yeah." Like, she comes back and, like, my eyes light up because I see the enthusiasm. I see what she did, and I'm like, fucking inspires me, and I'm like, "I gotta do more in this thing." And it's like we're in this place where we're inspiring each other, and we're so inspired by what the other person's doing and, and she'll help me out. She'll be like, "Well, what if you did it like this, this, and this?" And I'm like... And then she'll say something and I'll be like, "Well, why don't you handle the situation?" Because we have such different personalities that are also the same, but we're s- the thing that one of us is really good at, the other one maybe lacks a little bit and vice versa, and it's so cool to be able to, like, workshop, like, little conversations or how to handle a situation and, and it... And I just feel so comfortable with her, like, that I can say anything and she won't ever say... I don't know.

    8. JS

      I love the maturity. I mean, hearing you both talk about it-

    9. SG

      Yes, but let's be clear.

    10. JS

      [laughs]

    11. SG

      We are not the perfect-

    12. SP

      No, no, no

    13. JS

      It's not perfect. No-

    14. SP

      We're so silly and-

    15. JS

      ... but you're disagreeing. No, no, no, but I, I think the maturity of, and, and I agree with you. I think, I think that's actually the difference, and I'm glad you brought that up. I think there's a big difference between maturity and perfection.

    16. SP

      Yeah.

    17. JS

      Perfection is saying, "We never have a disagreement. We never have to take space from each other. We ne-

    18. SP

      Yeah

    19. JS

      ... you know, which you're not saying. You're saying, "Hey, I just asked for 25 feet of space."

    20. SP

      Yeah, yeah, yeah. [laughs]

    21. JS

      And then I was like, "Wait a minute, I need you."

    22. SP

      Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

    23. JS

      And I think there's a maturity in that because it requires maturity from both parts-

    24. SG

      Yeah

    25. JS

      ... for you to first say, "Hey, I need space," for you to say, "I get it. I respect you," and then for you to have the maturity to say, "Actually, I want you back"-

    26. SP

      Yeah

    27. JS

      ... and for you to be like, not like, "Oh, I told you so," for you to be like, "I'm here for you." Like, that, that's not perfection. To me, that's maturity, and I think that's, I really want people to get that from it, that you are gonna have disagreements. You are gonna want space. Like, me and Ralli went through that. She, at the beginning of our relationship, if we had a disagreement, and we were the same, we never, we made a rule that we would never raise our voices at each other because I came from a home where it was not great.

    28. SP

      Yeah.

    29. JS

      She comes from a home where her parents don't raise their voices, but I was just like, I never wanted that in my home. I wanted the energy of my home to be so sacred, and I wanted the energy of the home to always have a space where everyone just walked in and felt, like, a warm hug. And I was like, "We can't argue and then expect that to happen." But it took a long time for us to realize that when she, at the start of our disagreements, she wanted space, and I used to say to her, "Well, if you don't wanna talk about it right now, that means you don't care about me." And that wasn't true. She just needed space to process. So it took time for us to mature, for me to realize, "Wait a minute, you wanting space is you caring-

    30. SG

      Yeah

  12. 57:08 – 1:05:29

    The Proposal

    1. SP

      thing from perfect in the world. We're perfect for each other. We're not perfect for everyone else. But I think the thing that's cool is that we've had all these experiences. I've had all my experiences where it wasn't right, and I'm like, "Oh, okay, I'm gonna change that the next time, you know, with this person or with that person." And I think that's when you really grow.

    2. JS

      Yeah.

    3. SP

      Is when you take all your experiences, good or bad, like, I, I'm like her, I take every experience in my life, my past partners, my family, my everything. It's like everything happened for a reason, and I'm not gonna sit here and mope about, like, things that could be better or different. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna say, "Okay, I learned this, and now I'm gonna put it into practice."

    4. JS

      Yeah. Yeah.

    5. SP

      You know?

    6. JS

      Yeah. For me, I always, I always said to Radhi, I always say to my wife, "Do you want me to listen? Do you want me to fix this? Or do you just want me to go through it with you?"

    7. SP

      Yeah. 'Cause a lot of times-

    8. JS

      Just, like, make it clear for me because-

    9. SP

      They don't want you to fix it right away.

    10. JS

      They don't. No.

    11. SP

      And I'm not saying, I'm saying men or women.

    12. JS

      Yeah.

    13. SP

      Sometimes it's not about fixing. You know, everyone is, you know, I'm such a problem solver, and you are, too. So it's like your first thing, your, I know the first thing in your head is like, "How can I fix this situation?" But sometimes it's not about fixing it right there. Sometimes it's about just, like, you know, especially for women who are, like, strong, like both our partners-

    14. SG

      Mm

    15. SP

      ... they don't have a lot of time to be vulnerable in all the areas of their life. They have the world on their backs. Your wife has, there's so many people that re- rely on her. There's so many people that rely on her. So sometimes they just wanna complain about something, and that's okay.

    16. JS

      Yeah.

    17. SP

      That's okay.

    18. JS

      Yeah, yeah, for sure.

    19. SP

      It's okay.

    20. JS

      For sure.

    21. SP

      Who else are they gonna do it to? They might as well do it, and you, and you just listen.

    22. JS

      I have to ask you both about this because I was so excited when the news came out, and it just, you know, it was, it was so beautiful to see it go from where it started to this, but your proposal and, and now you're engaged and, like, that just, I can tell, I mean, it just, it feels just beautiful being in the same space with you both y- loving on each other, which is great. Uh, Selena, what was the proposal like? Like-

    23. SG

      We have a video of it, but, um, I wanna save that for us and just keep that private. But basically, what I will share is that I thought we had a shoot that day, and I had hair and makeup, and I was doing my regular day. I get in the car, and I'm thinking to myself, "Where are we going?" 'Cause at this point, I feel like I know a lot of the studios that I go to. And I just started getting a little frustrated 'cause I was like, "This seems far, right?" You know, I'm just talking-

    24. JS

      And who's in the car? Just you?

    25. SG

      Just me and my security. And he's laughing 'cause he's just like, "Oh, it's just, you know, I don't know. It's a new space." I was like, "Okay." We get out. I just, I walk in, and all of a sudden I see no one's in the room, and I just look at my assistant and she just shuts the door.

    26. JS

      [laughs]

    27. SG

      And I was like, "Uh..." And I, like, kind of walked on to, you know, the area that he had set up. And, um, you know, I think you envision all the things that you would do and say when someone asks you, but it is actually the craziest feeling. It was really special. He, he said the sweetest things, but I also was so shocked that it, it just felt unreal for a long time. And I don't know, I've always dreamt of that moment, and he couldn't have made it more perfect. Um, yeah, it was one of the best days of my life, for sure.

    28. SP

      I wasn't nervous until one second before.

    29. JS

      Tell us.

    30. SP

      I was so not nervous. I was doing work until one second before. I was approving masters for a, s- an album that was coming out that night, and then right when it happened, right when it was about to happen, I said, "Oh, shit, what the f- am I gonna say?" And I'm so good with words usually. I can't remember anything. If we didn't have a video of it, I wouldn't even remember what I said. You know, I had known I was gonna propose to her for so long. And, you know, I never cared about marriage. It wasn't a thing in my head. She cared about it so much, so I said, "Well, now I care about it, 'cause she cares about it."

  13. 1:05:29 – 1:06:26

    Wedding Planning

    1. JS

      to her parents on the train to tell her parents what had happened, and I told them I was proposing that night. But we were going to hers, and we got to her house, and her parents opened the door. And they looked at her, and they were like, "What did he do to you?" Because she had hives all over her face, because I didn't know she was allergic to horses.

    2. SP

      [laughs]

    3. JS

      And she didn't know either.

    4. SP

      [laughs]

    5. JS

      And so that was the night we figured out that she was allergic to horses.

    6. SP

      That's amazing.

    7. JS

      And so that story reminded me that I did know her, but I didn't.

    8. SP

      Yeah.

    9. JS

      Uh, you know, we've been together-

    10. SG

      That's actually-

    11. JS

      Yeah

    12. SG

      ... the thought is what counts.

    13. JS

      Yeah, I was trying. I was trying really hard.

    14. SP

      No, it's-

    15. SG

      So cute

    16. JS

      ... but, but it's one of the... We've been together for 12 years and married for nine, so we're doing all right. But I look back on it, and I look at how much of my life was just impacted by the world of love. And now knowing my wife as deeply as I do, I would do it completely differently. So I'm trying to convince her to renew our vows on our 10 years of-

    17. SG

      Aw

    18. JS

      ... marriage. And, and also 'cause our friends have changed. Like, we got married nearly 10 years ago now.

  14. 1:06:26 – 1:13:17

    Recording an Album Together

    1. SP

      Yeah.

    2. JS

      We've moved country-

    3. SG

      Look how much your life-

    4. JS

      Yeah, so much has changed, and so I'm like the people I want to celebrate my-

    5. SP

      Did you even have the podcast then?

    6. JS

      No, no, no. Nothing. No, no, no. I didn't have social media.

    7. SP

      How long ago? When did you have the podcast?

    8. JS

      Podcast is six years old. Yeah, the pod-

    9. SP

      Like, wasn't she on, like, your first ever episode?

    10. JS

      She was my first episode. Yeah, my wife's my first episode. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

    11. SG

      That's so sweet.

    12. JS

      But yeah, I would do it again, and I think it's a great reminder of just how much we evolve and mature in relationships and how it's okay to look back and go, "Hey," like, you know-

    13. SG

      It's a great story.

    14. JS

      Yeah, it's a fun story. It's a fun story. But, um, but yeah, no, I'm so happy to hear about how beautiful this proposal was. You nailed it, Benny. You just, you know.

    15. SP

      No, we just-

    16. JS

      You're, you're the man. I mean, it's, it's, it's beautiful to hear. And, and I mean, last time we were together, Benny, you were talking about wedding planning.

    17. SP

      How's that going?

    18. SG

      We have not even begun. Um, because I think for right now there's just so much going on. I have to go and shoot, um, a series for a while, and I don't know, we'll just see. We're not in any rush, and I'm excited to see what happens.

    19. SP

      I'm just happy she said yes.

    20. SG

      [laughs]

    21. SP

      I, I don't even care about the next time.

    22. SG

      [laughs]

    23. SP

      No, it's... No, but, like, we're, we're honestly, we're so... We've been doing so much stuff, we haven't even gotten to really just, like, bask-

    24. SG

      Bask in it

    25. SP

      ... in the glory.

    26. JS

      Yeah.

    27. SP

      So it's like I think we're looking forward to doing that in New York a little bit and-

    28. JS

      What does that look like for both of you? Just you two spending time together?

    29. SG

      Yeah.

    30. SP

      Yeah.

  15. 1:13:17 – 1:18:03

    Future Family Plans

    1. JS

      like the sound of that." Like, that, that's awesome.

    2. SG

      We're both... We- I think it comes down to ego.

    3. JS

      Mm.

    4. SG

      And we both don't really have that, so if we disagree on something, it's like, "Okay, agree to disagree."

    5. JS

      Yeah.

    6. SG

      Like, that's fine. But yeah, of course, if I say, "I don't know if I like that," he, he most of the time doesn't even question it and just is really receptive to my... Yeah, we just don't have an ego, so it doesn't matter. He could say, "No, I don't like it," and I'd be like, "Okay."

    7. JS

      [laughs]

    8. SG

      [laughs]

    9. JS

      That's amazing. What are you hoping that... Is there a song on there that you're really excited for fans to hear or anything specific for people to experience?

    10. SP

      I think I want people to, to hear the whole body of work. And, like, I don't really think about music like that. I make it for myself, and if-

    11. JS

      Yeah

    12. SP

      ... and luckily, people happen to like some of it. And we started this thing in our room, and we recorded the whole album in the house and with our friends.

    13. JS

      That's so intimate. And that's... Have you ever done that before?

    14. SP

      Not like this, no.

    15. JS

      No. Yeah.

    16. SP

      No.

    17. JS

      Yeah.

    18. SP

      No. And it was like it kinda blurred reality a little. It was the most fun I ever had. And I just, like, wanted a piece of music to be able to, I don't know, one day, like, show our kids and be like, "Look at this. Like, look at this thing Mommy and Daddy made."

    19. JS

      That's pretty amazing.

    20. SP

      And it was like, and it... Like, I can't believe it. Like, it's so cool to me.

    21. JS

      Yeah.

    22. SP

      I don't care what happens with it. I was just, like, so excited to do this with the person I love and freeze a moment in time in a way that not a lot of people have the ability to do. And, like, we had, we were lucky enough to do that.

    23. JS

      Yeah. Selena, you mentioned earlier always wanting to be a mom, and Benny, you just mentioned kids. Is that... Are you both, like, big family, big k- big, lots of kids kinda people?

    24. SG

      Yeah.

    25. JS

      Or what's the-

    26. SG

      I mean, I, I don't know what will happen obviously, but I, I, I love children. I mean, I have an 11-year-old sister that I absolutely adore, and I'm still doing Wizards this, this far along because I love children. I love making them laugh. They're just so sweet. So absolutely when that day comes, I'm so excited for it.

    27. JS

      Yeah.

    28. SP

      It's funny. We'll be at-

    29. JS

      Yeah

    30. SP

      ... we'll be at, like, a gathering or a party, and m- not many people know this, but, like, Selena's, like, the ultimate level of shy. Like, the ultimate, ultimate, ultimate level of shy. Like, couldn't-

  16. 1:18:03 – 1:33:53

    Selena and Benny on Fun Questions

    1. SP

      always gonna be herself. She's never gonna try to be somebody else.

    2. JS

      Well said.

    3. SG

      You know I love it.

    4. JS

      Oh, Benny and Selena, I'm so grateful to you both for just opening your hearts, being so kind.

    5. SG

      Only with you.

    6. JS

      Huh?

    7. SG

      Only with you.

    8. SP

      Yeah. I can't believe you got her to say some of this stuff.

    9. JS

      Yeah?

    10. SP

      She'd never say-

    11. SG

      I'm very, very open

    12. SP

      ... she would never say any of this.

    13. JS

      Is there anything you didn't say that I, that you wanted to say? I wanna make sure.

    14. SP

      [laughs]

    15. SG

      No. No.

    16. JS

      No, I mean, I mean that in a, in a genuine way.

    17. SG

      I actually am thinking. I, I just, I'm just really grateful that people like you exist because you, you bring so much joy to people and also understanding, you know, so many different ways of life and navigating that, and I think you're a great example. So I just would like to say thank you. I trust you with that information, and it's always a pleasure to be with you, so-

    18. JS

      Yeah

    19. SG

      ... thanks for having us.

    20. JS

      No, you're both, you're both just so special. You've always been... I've always said, Selena, for years that, you know, no ma- And those moments where I could tell you were shy or wanting to disappear, but always being so gracious and kind to me and my wife whenever we were together and making us feel comfortable even if you felt-

    21. SG

      Yeah

    22. JS

      ... uncomfortable. And Benny, you know, just the wonderful conversations we've had over the last couple of years and I feel like we've done everything. We've talked about so many different things, and we are both kind of like that, you know, back and forth, back and forth kind of people. Uh, but you've both done the final five before on the show, so we wanted to do something different with you both.

    23. SG

      Okay.

    24. JS

      We wanted to play a little couples game.

    25. SG

      Oh.

    26. JS

      So I'm gonna hand you-

    27. SP

      Oh my God

    28. JS

      ... these boards.

    29. SG

      Oh, I know exactly what this is.

    30. JS

      So you take one each. They're fun. Fun questions. Fun questions.

Episode duration: 1:33:53

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