Francia Raisa discussed her friendship with Selena Gomez at the latter's inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit on Oct. 4.
The two have been friends since 2007 when they met at a charity event while Francia was on The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Selena was on the Disney Channel. About a decade later, Francia even donated a kidney to Selena while the singer was dealing with complications from lupus.
However, things between the two appeared a little tense after Selena told Rolling Stone in November of last year, "I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift]." In a now-deleted comment, Francia replied, "Interesting," prompting Selena to later say in a TikTok comment section, "Sorry I didn't mention every person I know."
Speaking to Extra last night, Francia said that she and Selena were "inseparable" after they met. "A lot of what we went through — we trauma-bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky," she said.
"People grow, relationships change. Obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister," Francia continued, noting that no relationship is "perfect." Seemingly alluding to her kidney donorship, she continued, "When our situation came up…No, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it. I am happy that we are here today, celebrating and supporting each other.”
"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," Francia continued.
“Sometimes, I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow," Francia continued, adding that Selena's candor with her mental health had inspired her when it came to navigating her own mental health in the public eye. "I am really happy in my career now and my endeavor. I don’t know if I would be able to do that if I didn’t really take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me, because I wasn’t okay."
"I am okay now, and just for the record, it had nothing to do with the kidney," she added.
At the end of the day, Francia seemed to indicate that she and Selena's friendship is in a good place. "I went through a lot in my childhood and I will be talking about it very soon," she said. "She has been such a huge support through all of that."
