Francia Raisa is clearing the air once and for all about her relationship with longtime friend Selena Gomez.
The two actors have weathered speculation about their alleged feud for a hot minute. The “How I Met Your Father” star recently acknowledged some “rocky and tricky” moments in their friendship but said it had “nothing to do with the kidney” transplant.
If you need a refresher, Raisa donated her kidney to Gomez in 2017. The “Come & Get It” singer needed a transplant due to complications with the autoimmune disease lupus. During surgery, Gomez experienced emergency complications that led surgeons to remove a femoral vein from her leg and construct a new artery to support Raisa’s kidney.
Rumors that the two women had entered a rough patch in their friendship kicked off last year after Gomez called singer Taylor Swift her “only friend in the industry” in a November 2022 interview with Rolling Stone.
Fans assumed there might be a rift between Gomez and Raisa after the latter reportedly curtly commented “interesting” under an Instagram post about the interview.
Gomez later commented on TikTok, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”
But things seemed back on track in March after Gomez called Raisa her “best friend” in an episode of Apple TV+’s “Dear…”
While attending the inaugural Rare Impact Fund benefit to support Gomez in Los Angeles on Wednesday, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” actor addressed the rumors about their friendship.
“We trauma-bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky … people grow, relationships change,” Raisa, 35, told Extra of Gomez, 31.
“Obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister,” Raisa said, later adding: “I don’t know any relationship that’s perfect.”
“I am happy that we are here today, celebrating and supporting each other,” she said.
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Raisa said she’s not used to “people butting into” her personal life and faced hurtful comments from internet trolls about her relationship with Gomez.
“Obviously it got to me. I got some pretty crazy comments. I had to block some people. And for a while, I just couldn’t go on the internet. And then people texting me, ‘Are you OK?’ And like, honestly, I wasn’t because we weren’t in a great place. But at the same time, we needed that time apart,” she told E! News.
The “Grown-ish” actor added: “There [were] a couple times where I was like, ‘You guys, leave me alone!’”
Raisa noted that people grow and change as they age.
“I am a different person today than I was last year or even when I turned 30. I’m 35 now. Even when Selena turned 30, I’m like, ‘It’s different, isn’t it?’ and she was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ’Welcome to your 30s. Now we can get to know each other again,” she recalled.
As for how Raisa feels about her history with Gomez, she quipped to E! News that she’s tethered to the singer, who “has a piece of my body” — for which Raisa said she has no regrets.
“She’s my sis, and every relationship goes through its ups and downs. And I don’t know why the media started following me over the summer, but thank you so much, because not only did it bring my friendship back together, but I got to share the new endeavors that I’m doing right now,” she said.
CORRECTION: This story has been amended to note that Raisa stars in “How I Met Your Father,” not “How I Met Your Mother.”