Selena Gomez Reveals How Fiancé Benny Blanco Helped Her Return to Music After 5-Year Hiatus

Selena Gomez attributes her return to music with upcoming album to her fiancé, producer Benny Blanco. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 18, 2025 | 11:05 AM GMT | 10.4K

CC: Instagram

Selena Gomez credits her fiancé, music producer Benny Blanco, with helping her regain her musical voice after a five-year hiatus.

Speaking to Rolling Stone before their collaborative effort, titled, I Said I Loved You First, Gomez, 32, explained that Blanco, 37, was instrumental in rekindling her creative fire.

Gomez clarified that she had been creatively stuck, not knowing which direction to proceed with her music following her 2020 album Rare and 2021's Spanish-language EP Revelación. She said she was "very frustrated and kind of confused on where I wanted to go next musically."

The Emilia Perez actress talked about seeking help from Blanco, recognizing that his musical knowledge instinctively impacted her creative process in certain ways that she hadn't previously encountered.

"And we had been together for a while, and obviously, I would confide in him. I couldn’t figure out my sound... It helps that he knows a little bit about music, and it kind of happened organically to where I felt like this process was unlike any other process I’d ever been through," she continued.

Blanco, who proposed to Gomez in December 2024, grew to be not only a sympathetic partner — but also an actively involved one who helped shape the album. As per Gomez's own account, the album evolved organically, as Blanco's presence helped her focus and find her direction.

Blanco mentioned that they specifically made the project very intimate by only working with close friends. He remembered how he persuaded Gomez to record her thoughts as soon as she woke up in the morning, and they then rewrote these as songs. He explained the experience as being very emotionally therapeutic and personal to them both.

The album also has a collaboration with Gracie Abrams. Gomez also disclosed that the title of the album was inspired by a real incident in their relationship where the two shared a special moment of understanding.

She added that the songs blend both their own experiences, and each has a personal importance that can have a different impact on each of them.

"It’s just factual. It just is actually what went down, and it describes us. This whole project embodies his stories combined with my stories. They have meanings that are really just personal to both of us. So one song could actually mean two different things," she said.

Selena Gomez confessed that the album title also has a lighthearted, sentimental note, admitting she was the first one to utter the words "I love you."

I Said I Loved You First arrives on March 21.