Benny Blanco poked fun at his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, by acquiring a signed Wizards of Waverly Place poster.
Blanco, 35, took to Instagram Story on Tuesday, February 6, to show a photo of Gomez, 31, hiding while he showed off the poster of her character, Alex Russo.
Gomez’s role on Wizards of Waverly Place launched her to fame during its run on Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012. The TV series followed the Russo siblings — Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin — who were secretly wizards-in-training while attempting to balance their lives as teenagers.
Earlier this year, Gomez confirmed that her and Henrie would return for a new TV pilot to launch a Wizards of Waverly Place spinoff. The upcoming project focuses on Justin as an adult as he returns to the world of magic to help mentor a young wizard named Billie. (In the series finale, Justin and Alex walked away with powers but the eldest Russo has since seemingly given that up.)
Blanco’s show of support for Gomez’s newest project comes as the couple continue to show off their romance. The actress originally surprised fans in December 2023 when she announced that she had been dating Blanco for “six months.”
“He is my absolute everything in my heart,” she wrote in an Instagram comment at the time. “He [has] been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The end. … He’s still better than anyone I’ve been with. Facts.”
The pair were initially friends and collaborated on Gomez’s music before they started dating. Since confirming their romance, Gomez has attended several events with Blanco, including the Golden Globes last month.
“She’s proudly introducing him to everyone in her life,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly. “They kept things low-key [at first], but Benny has passed every test with flying colors. The new year seemed like a perfect time to essentially shout [their love] from the rooftops, so that’s what Selena is doing.”
According to a second insider, Gomez’s inner circle has given their stamp of approval.
“She loves how Benny treats her: he’s so kind and thoughtful. She’s never been with anyone like him,” the source shared earlier this month. “It’s been a very long time since friends saw Selena this happy. She’s positively glowing.”
Gomez, who had a lengthy on-again, off-again relationship with Justin Bieber and has been linked to DJ Zedd and The Weeknd, previously discussed how her outlook on dating has changed over the years.
“I think I have standards, and I think I live in a world right now where boys confuse standards with high maintenance,” she said on SiriusXM Hits 1 LA with Tony Fly and Symon in August 2023 before discussing what she required in a potential partner. “Not cool in the sense that people think you’re cool. You just gotta be nice and, like, please make me laugh and also just be good to my family and people around you.”
At the time, Gomez referred to herself as single, adding, “I just want to be happy with who I am so that whenever that person comes into my life, I can just have them add on to me instead of being this insecure, you know, person that I normally used to be. It’s basically my way of saying it’s totally OK being on your own and it’s fun.”
