Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift's Complete 13+ Year Friendship Timeline

Later that month, Gomez stepped into the drama surrounding Swift, Big Machine Records' CEO Scott Borchetta, and Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun. Swift penned an open letter airing her grievances with her former label and new owner of her first six albums. This prompted Gomez to release her own statement on the matter, via her Instagram Story.

Her statement in defense of Swift read:

My heart is so heavy right now. It makes me sick and extremely angry. (I don’t mind if there may be retaliation) this is my opinion. It’s greed, manipulation, and power. There is no heart or thought of anyone else. No respect for the words my friend has written since she was a 14-year-old in her bedroom.

You’ve robbed and crushed one of our best song writers of our time an opportunity to celebrate all of her music with her fans and the world.

I have known Taylor for 13 years. She is the most dedicated, fearless, fiesty [sic], strongest woman I’ve ever known. People can say bitch but what I’m saying to you is that’s called a woman with true identity and strength who takes no shit. I listened to fearless before it came out and I just remember us jumping on a bed and she was just sparkling. ✨ -so proud of her diary being read by the whole world. Nervous of people not liking it… but that became one of the biggest records - an album that saved so many young woman who felt alone. Have a broken heart. Who were healing. Those who felt invisible. Gave a voice to those who didn’t know that they had one all along. Believing in dreams again. I continued to see how she has constantly challenged her self to create a beautiful life that belong to just her. So I can tell you first hand the MOST important thing to Taylor is her family, love, her fans, and her MUSIC. I really hope there is a change of heart over this unfortunate situation.

Seeing my best friend (or any of my friends) be constantly pulled down is the worst feeling. Taylor fights. She will never stop fighting. People grow from choices. Some will stay exactly the same. I just want a change of heart. I love you.

December 2019

Although Gomez wasn't able to attend Swift's Christmas-themed 30th birthday party while promoting her new album in Paris, she did write her a heartfelt tribute on social media. "Love living many many many years of life with you. You mean the world to me. You help me become better everyday. Happy 30th, @taylorswift," she wrote. Swift reposted the message on her own Instagram Story and added an "I love you" sticker.

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One of the interviews to emerge from Gomez's press tour for Rare revealed Swift had gotten emotional when listening to Bieber breakup songs from the record. Gomez recounted the experience of playing "Lose You to Love Me" and "Look at Her Now" for Swift and her mother, Andrea to KISS UK. "I was with her when I played her some of it," Gomez began. "I’ll never forget when I did play the video for ‘Lose You to Love Me’ and ‘Look at Her Now’ at her house with her parents, and it was one of the coolest experiences because I’ve been friends with her for over a decade and love her family as well so I was like, 'Do you just maybe see the video?' and she’s like, 'Amazing, of course.' It was so hysterical. She just started turning off every single light off in the kitchen. And I was like, 'This is not that intense, Taylor.'"

Gomez continued, "And then she played it and her and her mom just started crying. Like, just tears and tears and all of a sudden, it stopped, and it’s going to make me cry thinking about it because it wasn’t about how great the song was—which is a lot, coming from her—it was just that they had been on that journey with me intimately, and they were crying because of how proud they were for me stepping into a whole new era of my life and it not involving the horrible things—the abuse, the emotional chaos. It felt like I had a huge sigh of relief and to see her and her mom feel that way, it was very sweet. It’s like an older sister and an aunt proud of their [friend]. It felt great to have people I love see it as that."

January 2020

Gomez wasn't by Swift's side for her PDA-filled Golden Globes date with Joe Alwyn. But there was no need to worry about the pair's close bond. In a new interview with WSJ magazine, both Gomez and Swift spoke about their longtime friendship. Gomez confirmed that they had become pals while both dating Jonas Brothers—Swift with Joe Jonas and Gomez with Nick. “We clicked instantly and, man, that was my girl,” Gomez remembered. She later added, “We both went through sh*t at the same time. She taught me a lot about how I should be treated at a young age.”

Swift felt similarly about Gomez. “There has always been this quality of sisterhood, and I don’t say that in a basic way,” Swift said. “I knew from when I met her, I would always have her back. In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don’t know if I can forgive someone who hurts her.”

Christopher Polk/TAS18Getty Images

Gomez said that while some may feel like they understand her friendship with Swift, it's more private than it looks. “There’s so much of my friendship with Taylor that people don’t know about because we don’t necessarily feel the need to post about everything we do,” she explained. “She has showed up for me in ways that I would have never expected. Flown in because I was hurt and was going through something. Stuff that was going on with my family. It’s been proven year after year and in every moment of my life that she is one of my best friends in the world. We don’t agree on everything, but we respect each other with everything."

And prior to the release of Rare, Gomez said Swift supported her new music implicitly. “I remember Taylor said when I played her some of the new songs, ‘I feel like I’m seeing who you were before this [the Justin Bieber heartbreak and everything].’ That makes me happy. I like feeling like that girl again,” Gomez revealed.

When it came time for the January 10 release of Rare, Swift was quick to publicly congratulate Gomez. "Congratulations to @selenagomez and everyone who had a hand in creating this...Make sure to buy/stream/support this work of art and the beautiful soul who created it," Swift wrote on her Instagram Story. Gomez posted a screenshot of Swift's story on her own Instagram.

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April 2020

Gomez praised Swift's songwriting abilities with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio show. She highlighted "Lover," saying, "There's nothing really to say other than this is another song that shows her ability to take it back to the old, to also combine it with her challenging to do new things with her music." Gomez added, "I'll always, not even biased, just think she is one of the greatest songwriters."

July 2020

Another day, another project to support. When Swift surprise-dropped her eighth album folklore, Gomez was one of the first celebrities celebrating it on Instagram. "She's done it again @taylorswift," Gomez wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a screenshot of Swift's new song "cardigan" and pink bow emoji.

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August 2020

Gomez's Animal Crossing villager made a virtual appearance Animal Talking with Gary Whitta live-stream show early this month. During her appearance, she revealed that she's working on a new album—and it could involve a Swift collaboration. When asked about her dream artist to work with, Gomez replied, "I’ll say there’s a few artists for sure, but I’ve always dreamt of doing a song with Taylor. I mean, we both wanted to do that. It’s just—everything remains in our friendship, you know? And so, it’s so—It just feels like we’re family. I’ve known her for 13 or 14 years now. So she’s been my best friend. But we’ve talked about it for sure."

While fans await a new Gomez album, she did launch her latest TV project—her new HBO Max cooking show Selena + Chef. During the fourth episode, she casually called up a friend while making Korean BBQ short rib breakfast tacos with chef Roy Choi. That pal turned out to be none other than Swift. "I'm gonna show my friend really quick. I've been telling all of my friends that I've been doing this. Out of everything that I've done in my career, this is the most outstanding thing I've done," Gomez began before revealing Swift on FaceTime.

When Gomez showed her culinary creation to Swift, the singer responded, "Dude, I'm so proud of you. Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to become obsessed with cooking?"

Gomez added, "She's like my big cooking person. It's a very big deal that I'm learning how to cook, and it's good for our friendship."