Back and better than ever! Selena Gomez’s mom, Mandy Teefey, said at the Thursday, March 30, premiere of the new Netflix series they’re co-producing, 13 Reasons Why, that she believes her daughter’s three-month “break” from the spotlight last year was a very necessary one.
When asked by Entertainment Tonight about how her 24-year-old superstar daughter manages to glow so radiantly on the red carpet, Teefey responded, “I think it was actually [from] taking a break. You asked what it is [like] to feel like you’re in this world, we’re in a bubble. It’s not a real world. You don’t really realize it until you go out of this bubble and you’re like, ‘Oh, OK.’”
According to Teefey, Gomez’s decision to go on a social media hiatus last year helped her to reassess her priorities and regain a firm footing in reality. “And you know, with her, when she was becoming famous, I was like, ‘Aren’t you so shocked?’” Teefey continued. “It’s not an arrogant thing, it’s just your day to day, and that’s what becomes your life. Then when you go home, or [when I] go to my husband’s home in the Midwest, you’re like, ‘This isn’t really real.’ That ‘all of this about me’ and, you know, this lifestyle isn’t real.”
Last August, the “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” singer released a statement that she was opting to take a break to focus on her health and well-being.
“As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have Lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways,” she said in a statement to Us at the time. “I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of Lupus, which can present their own challenges.”
The singer added that she wanted to tackle her health issues “head on” and “encouraged [others] to address their own issues.”
In November, she opened up about her digital detox, telling Thrive Global during a Q&A that she spent 90 days unplugged. “I recently took 90 days off,” she said. “During that time I did not have my cellphone. It was the most refreshing, calming, rejuvenating feeling. Now I rarely pick up my phone, and only limited people have access to me.”
Gomez and Teefey’s new series, 13 Reasons Why, follows the story of a teenage girl who kills herself and sends tapes to people who impacted her suicide, and is based on a popular YA novel by Jay Asher.
