A complete timeline of Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco's relationship
- Selena Gomez is engaged to Benny Blanco after a year and a half of dating.
- Gomez shared pictures of the engagement ring on Instagram on December 11.
- The two musicians have collaborated on several songs, starting in 2015 with Gomez's albumΒ "Revival."
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco first collaborated on a song together in 2015. Nine years later, they are engaged.
The news comes a year and a half after Gomez and Blanco began dating and a year after they went public as a couple. The newly-engaged musicians have shared a lot of digital PDA since telling fans they were romantically involved.
Here's a detailed timeline of their relationship.
OctoberΒ 9,Β 2015: Gomez releases 'Revival,' which includes two collaborations with Blanco
Blanco has built a reputation as a sought-after pop producer, helping to create mega-hits like Kesha's 2009 breakthrough "Tik Tok" and Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" in 2010.
In 2015, he was credited on two songs in Gomez's second solo album "Revival." The songs, "Same Old Love" and "Kill Em With Kindness," were both released as singles.
Gomez and Blanco are credited as cowriters on "Kill Em With Kindness," which she has described as "lyrically my favorite song" from "Revival."
At the time of the album's release, Gomez was still heavily associated with her on-and-off boyfriend Justin Bieber, though she was actively trying to change that narrative.
February 28, 2019: Blanco releases 'I Can't Get Enough' featuring Gomez, Tainy, and J Balvin
Blanco began making his own music in 2018. The following year, he released "I Can't Get Enough" as a stand-alone single.
The song features Gomez, who sings the lead vocal in English, and J Balvin, who sings his verse in Spanish. It was coproduced by Tainy. All four artists appear together in the music video.
Blanco promoted the song on Instagram, sharing several photos of himself cuddling with Gomez on set.
"Benny has a cool way of bringing people together, even in the weirdest ways," Gomez said in behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot.
October 26, 2020: Blanco seems to throw shade at Gomez while promoting a new song with her ex-boyfriend
Blanco started working with Bieber in 2009 and told Variety the two musicians were like "brothers." The pair worked together on hits like "Eenie Meenie," "Love Yourself," and "Cold Water."
In a 2020 interview with Zach Sang, Blanco discussed his close friendship with Bieber after he cowrote and coproduced "Lonely," the second single from Bieber's sixth album, "Justice."
"Justin's not one of those cookie-cutter pop artists," Blanco said. "Like you know, they're like, 'This is my new single and here's my makeup line.' And he's like, Justin's like, 'Yo. I have a pimple and I have anxiety today.' He's always been upfront about that stuff."
Gomez had unveiled her own makeup line, Rare Beauty, earlier that year. Fans were quick to interpret the comment as a thinly veiled insult.
At the time, representatives for Blanco did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, nor did he publicly address the backlash.
August 25, 2023: Gomez releases 'Single Soon,' coproduced by Blanco
Gomez and Blanco teamed up again for "Single Soon," released as a standalone song.
In the music video, Gomez pays homage to Carrie Bradshaw and celebrates a boyfriend-free lifestyle.
Earlier that summer, Gomez posted a TikTok shouting her status as single to a group of football players. "I'm single, I'm just a little high maintenance," the singer said in the video.
@selenagomez The struggle man lol
β¬ original sound - Selena Gomez
December 2023: Gomez and Blanco become Instagram official
In late 2023, fans began to speculate that Gomez and Blanco were dating.
Gomez confirmed her romance with Blanco in her Instagram story on December 7, 2023. She shared a photo of the couple cuddling and a photo of herself wearing the letter "B" on her left ring finger.
When fan accounts picked up the news, some reacted with disappointment or concern β mostly due to Blanco's perceived insult from 2020, as well as his enduring friendship with Bieber, whom Gomez accused of emotional abuse.
Gomez replied to several negative comments on Instagram, defending Blanco and describing him as "the best thing that's ever happened to me." Although it's unclear when their relationship turned romantic, Gomez implied they'd been dating for six months.
She also addressed a critic who alluded to Blanco's "cookie-cutter" comment, saying Blanco is "still better than anyone I've ever been with."
Throughout the month, Gomez continued to post photos with Blanco on Instagram. She shared another black-and-white shot of the couple cuddling on December 12, 2023, and a photo of him kissing her cheek on December 30, 2023.
Blanco even made it onto Gomez's Instagram grid that month; he appears twice in a slideshow she posted with the caption, "New York, my favorite moments w you this week."
January 3, 2024: The couple has their first public outing at a basketball game
Blanco and Gomez sat courtside at Crypto.com Arena to watch the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Miami Heat.
That same day, Blanco shared two snaps of Gomez in his Instagram story.
"She seems to be really feeling herself at the moment," a source close to Gomez told People.Β "Maybe that's Benny or maybe that's just where she's at personally and professionally."
"Everyone is so happy that she's happy," the source added.
January 7, 2024: Gomez brings Blanco as her date to the Golden Globes
Gomez attended the 2024 Golden Globes as a nominee; she earned a nod for best performance by a female actor in a TV series, musical or comedy, for "Only Murders in the Building."
Although they didn't walk the red carpet together, Gomez and Blanco weren't shy about PDA inside the event.
Gomez shared several photos with Blanco from the event on Instagram.
March 8, 2024: Gomez shares birthday Instagram tribute for Blanco
Gomez posted in her Instagram feed celebrating Blanco's 36th birthday, sharing a roundup of pictures with the caption: "Happy birthday baby! Your emotional endurance, positive disposition, unbelievable talent (that blows me away), undeniable humor and loving, kind heart absolutely kill me. I love you @itsbennyblanco."
May 24, 2024: Blanco says he didn't realize he was on a date with Gomez on their first date
Appearing on an episode of SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show," Blanco said he didn't realize his relationship with Gomez had turned romantic during their first date.
"She was like, 'Hey, you want to hang out,' and I was like, 'Yeah,' we go and we hang out," he said. "I remember sitting there, and she's like, 'Well, I would have worn something different for this date, and I was like, 'What? We're on a date?'"
Blanco said they continued hanging out and described Gomez as his "best friend."
In the interview, Blanco said he wanted to marry Gomez but hadn't planned anything yet. He also said his next goal was to have children.
July 22, 2024: Blanco shares tribute for Gomez's 32nd birthday
In the Instagram post, Blanco reshared the photo from the music video of his 2019 song "I Can't Get Enough" and shared a new photo of Gomez holding a white teddy bear.
"I used to play a teddy bear in ur music video and now i get to b urs in real life⦠happy bday bb ! i love u!" he captioned the post aluding to the music video for their collaboration back in 2019.
Gomez commented on the post: "I love you π§Έ."
September 9, 2024: Gomez reacts to Blanco's comments about marriage and shares she can't have kids
During Gomez's Vanity Fair cover interview in September 2024, she was asked about Blanco's wishes to get married.
"He can't lie. After the interview, I was dying laughing. Like, 'Anything else you wanted to put out there?'" She said, adding later that neither she nor Blanco are in a rush to get married.
Later in the interview, Gomez said she plans to start a family by 35 but that she can't carry a child and would want to adopt.
"I haven't ever said this, but I unfortunately can't carry my own children," Gomez said. "I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby's in jeopardy. That was something I had to grieve for a while."
She added she's "in a much better place" about the situation."At the end of the day, I don't care. It'll be mine. It'll be my baby," she said.
November 20, 2024: Gomez says she shares so much about Blanco on social media because she sees a future with him
When asked about why she has been very public about her relationship with Blanco, Gomez told The Hollywood Reporter: "I guess this is the safest I've ever felt in one, and I see a future with this person. And when you put a little bit out there, people are not as hungry to hunt you down."
Gomez was asked about Blanco again during an interview with CBS Sunday on November 30, but this time about her thoughts on Blanco's inclusion in 2024's People's Sexiest Man Alive issue.
"That's my man," Gomez said.
"I'm really, really lucky." Selena Gomez opened up about her relationship with Benny Blanco, calling him her best friend, biggest supporter and now one of People's "Sexiest Men Alive." https://t.co/uBGatfUbGS pic.twitter.com/vD2ax2hJKY
β CBS Sunday Morning π (@CBSSunday) November 30, 2024
December 11, 2024: Gomez and Blanco get engaged
Gomez announced that she and Blanco are engaged on Instagram on Wednesday evening. She marked the engagement with a slideshow of pictures showing the ring and captioned the post: "Forever begins nowβ¦"
Blanco commented: "hey wait⦠that's my wife."
Fellow stars congratulated Gomez on the post, including Gomez's close friend Taylor Swift, who wrote, "Yes I will be the flower girl."