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Marriage means understanding your partner.
Selena Gomez and husband Benny Blanco are opening up about living with her bipolar disorder.
This is something that she has learned to manage for herself.
But he also plays a role, as there are things that he should and should not do.
Bipolar disorder is more complex than just taking meds for it and moving on
On the Tuesday, March 3 episode of Benny Blanco’s Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Selena appeared as a guest.
(She made sure that everyone saw, looping her millions of followers in as “close friends” to get people to watch her Story post and tune in to her husband’s podcast.)
In a conversation with Lil Dicky and Kristin Batalucco, a fellow married couple, Selena and Benny discussed her mental health.
She freely acknowledged that it took her a “f–king complicated” journey involving multiple therapists and rehabs before she got her diagnosis.
Finally, Selena learned that she has bipolar disorder, a diagnosis that she first revealed in 2020.
Benny shared that Selena sometimes has moments of “mania.”
At first, he didn’t know what they were. And it sounds like Selena isn’t always aware (which is pretty standard).
“She’ll start to realize she’s having it after, and sometimes she doesn’t even remember when it’s happening,” he admitted.
“It”s such a delicate thing ’cause you’re not supposed to technically talk to the person, really, about it while they’re deep in it,” Benny continued. “And even dating her, she’s, like, so hyper-aware.”
Benny described: “She’ll be like, ‘I think I’m feeling a little manic.’”
Receiving a diagnosis was so affirming
Selena affirmed that she doesn’t feel shame from having these moments of mania.
She is now better able to recognize and identify these episodes.
“But it is helpful to have a partner that will understand where maybe the temperature is at, and meet you where you are,” she praised.
“And,” Selena continued, “then you kind of gradually understand what’s happening.”
Receiving her diagnosis helped her to feel free to live her life “freely.”
Knowing that she has bipolar disorder has also helped Selena to contextualize how she responds to things.
“I would act out of fear and I would act out of love, I’d act out of passion, it was all inconsistent,” she described.
Selena then characterized: “It was crazy.”
We should note that some people with mental illness embrace, however jokingly, the “crazy” label when describing themselves.
For others, it represents their worst fear of how society might view them. Both viewpoints are valid.
Temperature control? Hey, whatever helps!
In addition to support from her husband and other close loved ones, Selena also — of course — uses medication.
She has also shared that she uses temperature regulation to “soothe” her emotions, with different episodes responding better to heat or to cold.
(We don’t know that psychiatrists will prescribe space heaters or AC any time soon, but being exactly the right temperature does often make everything else a little easier.)
We’re so glad to see that Selena has found a way to make her life work as someone with bipolar disorder.
And it’s also a relief to know that she has support in her life, including (and especially) from her husband.