In her husband Benny Blanco’s podcast, Selena Gomez speaks more openly than ever about manic phases, misdiagnoses and why therapy is no longer taboo for her.
Selena Gomez opens up about her bipolar disorder. On her husband Benny Blanco’s “Friends Keep Secrets” podcast, the actress and singer spoke openly about her mental illness and her path to diagnosis.
Wrong diagnoses
Blanco asked her in the podcast whether she had suspected she was bipolar before her official diagnosis. “I knew something was wrong, but I think I was misdiagnosed,” the actress and singer replied. “I think people were just making assumptions, and I tried several therapists.”
The actress made her mental illness public in 2020 – and found it a relief at the time.
Open about manic episodes
Now she’s talking about her manic episodes for the first time. “I’m equally proud to say that I actually have manic episodes,” she said. “I’m not ashamed of it at all because it allows me to recognize them a little quicker.”
In the podcast she also explained that it helps her a lot that her partner Benny Blanco understands her and supports her with the illness. According to Blanco, she still has occasional manic moments that she doesn’t recognize. “She doesn’t realize she’s having a seizure until it’s already in progress, and sometimes she doesn’t even remember it when it happens.”
“It’s such a delicate thing because you shouldn’t talk to this person about it while they’re in the middle of it. And even when you’re with them and they’re so overly confident, they say things like, ‘I think I’m feeling a little manic right now.'” The two have been together since 2023 and married in 2025.
Therapy without shame
Gomez has undergone four different therapies since the realization. She believes that the shame of going to therapy should be reduced. “It’s hypocritical to judge people for therapy. If you don’t understand it, then it’s just not right for the person. But it finally allowed me to realize, ‘Oh, that’s why I handled things the way I did. That’s why everyone else was able to get over it quickly, and I couldn’t.'”
She is very open about her therapeutic measures. In an interview with Vogue in 2021, she talked about certain techniques that she uses every day. She is undergoing dialectical behavioral therapy – a mixture of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness in which acceptance of the illness plays a central role.
Because Selena Gomez has accepted her bipolar disorder and is open about it. This makes her a strong role model for many who live with mental illness.
