Francia Raisa says her longtime friendship with Selena Gomez has ups and downs, but it was ‘nothing to do with the kidney’ transplant.
Raisa told Extra TV at Gomez’ Rare Impact Fund Benefit on October 4th, “Sometimes, I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow.” She went on to add, “We had to almost go on our own journey and grow.”
Raisa explained that she needed to “take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me, because I wasn’t OK.”
While she did not exactly mention what happened, the actress alluded to her bumpy past.
“I went through a lot in my childhood, and I will be talking about it very soon,” Raisa added. “[Selena] has been such a huge support through all of that.”
When Raisa and Gomez, 31, first met, the two were on shows including Secret Life of the American Teenager and Wizards of Waverly Place.
At the time, the duo ‘trauma bonded’ while visiting kids at a children’s hospital.
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“We started talking, we both had boyfriends at the time, we started kiki-ing,” Raisa recalled on Wednesday. “Around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up, and [she] and her boyfriend broke up, she called me and was like, ‘I am going through some stuff … I am going through a breakup.’ I was like, ‘Girl, me too,’ and we were just inseparable after that ever since.”
Back in 2017, Gomez admitted that her friend Raisa had given the “ultimate gift” by donating one of her kidneys. Gomez was diagnosed with lupus two years prior.
“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” Gomez shared via Instagram after her procedure. “So, I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health.”
The two had tension brewing between the two as feud rumors were fueled even further when Gomez claimed Taylor Swift was her “only friend in the industry” during a November 2022 interview with Rolling Stone.
Raisa threw shade at the comment at the time and the to moved on from the incident.
“I am a different person today than I was last year or even when I turned 30. I’m 35 now,” she shared. “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.’”
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Raisa went on to say that even though things can get “rocky and tricky” in friendships, she and Gomez are all good.
“People grow, relationships change. Obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister. … I don’t know any relationship that’s perfect,” Raisa said, noting she’s “happy” to be “celebrating and supporting” Gomez.
