10 things we learned about Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s romance from I Said I Love You First
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco released a collaborative album on Friday, 'I Said I Love You First', which delves into the couple's two-year relationship.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s new album is an inside scoop into the loved-up duo's relationship.
Singer-and-actress Gomez and record producer Blanco make up one of the hottest celebrity couples right now. They began dating in July 2023 and announced their engagement in December 2024.
Now, the pair are making their personal relationship professional with the new album, ‘I Said I Love You First’.
Here's what we learned...
Benny is Selena’s confidant
She captioned her Instagram post announcing the album’s release: “benny, thank you for being my own personal journal throughout this process.”
Gomez told Spotify she and her fiancé would talk, and Blanco would write down lines that could work for songs.
Blanco said: "Yeah, I felt like your personal journal. I was just constantly writing whatever you said, wherever we were.”
Selena wants someone by her side
On the track ‘Scared of Loving You’, Gomez confesses: “I’m not scared of loving you, I’m just scared of losing you”.
She continues: “If I throw a fit and get photographed, would you take my side? Would you hold my hand?”
The album is a tribute to their life together
Gomez told Rolling Stone magazine: “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 wrote on Instagram: “These songs represent our past, present and future… something I can’t wait to experience with you from now until forever.”
Benny is happy when Selena is happy
Selena admitted to Rolling Stone magazine she was struggling to find her new sound. But when she found it, Blanco was just as happy as she was.
Blanco said: “I hadn’t seen her excited about music for a long time, and I remember she was like, ‘I have to pull over the car because I’m so happy.’ And then I knew at that moment. I was like, ‘Well, if it’s making both of us happy, then hopefully it makes a few other people happy.’”
Gomez “loves love” — and Blanco loves her
Two days before the album’s release, Gomez told Spotify: “I don’t like to share it a lot, but I’m a very sensual person. And I love love, and sometimes I put that into words and I can feel sexy, and I love that feeling.”
On the song ‘Sunset Blvd’, she sings flirtatiously: “You’re my cherry pie, I don’t care who knows it. Love me til I die, bury me with roses”.
In a behind-the-scenes video for the ‘Sunset Blvd’ music video, Blanco said: “This song felt like such a moment in time when you’re fully lost in someone.”
Blanco admires Selena’s selflessness
On ‘Scared of Loving You’, Gomez sings about not wanting to lose her lover. Blanco said those lyrics are a testament to her selflessness.
Blanco said in an interview with Rolling Stone: “When she says, ‘I’m not scared of dying young or anyone,’ it really hits me, because only Selena would say something like that because of all the hardship she’s gone through. She never complains about anything ever.”
Blanco supports Selena on her journey from childhood stardom
In a behind-the-scenes video for track two, ‘Younger and Hotter Than Me’, Blanco spoke about the difficulties of Selena navigating her stardom from such a young age.
Blanco said of his fiancée: “When you’re young and you're a star and you're thrown into this whirlwind of being so many people’s favorite thing in the world, eventually, people find new things to hold. They find new things they can pick up, and you’re kind of left in this world where you’re in limbo.”
He continued: “To me, it comes so full circle because you are a person who is obviously not afraid to hide that you feel all of those things.”
They’re always thinking about each other
In December 2023, Gomez confirmed the rumors that they were dating by responding to a fan’s Instagram comment, saying: "He is my absolute everything in my heart."
And the two are still going strong.
On ‘Bluest Flame’ — which Charli xcx helped write — Gomez sings: “Never get you out my mind, never get you out my brain / Wanna do it all again, hotter than the bluest flame.”
Benny helps Selena with her social anxiety
The behind-the-scenes video for ‘Younger and Hotter Than Me’, Gomez said: “I’m so bad at parties. I’m socially awkward. I sit in the corner and talk to the one person who’s usually alone. I don’t feel like I’ve always fit in.”
But Benny keeps her steady. They were the first people to arrive at a party thrown by Taylor Swift after an awards show, the couple told Spotify.
Gomez said: "I don’t know it was kind of cute, but I was mortified. Apparently, cool people don’t show up to parties on time."
Gomez said “I love you” first
The album’s title — ‘I Said I Love You First’ — reveals a big secret about the happy couple’s relationship.
Selena said to Rolling Stone magazine: “Yeah, guilty as charged. I said ‘I love you’ first.”
