Selena Gomez says she ‘never really felt equal’ in past relationships

Selena Gomez was featured on Vogue Australia and revealed why the word “rare” is so important to her. Not only is the name of her brand Rare Beauty, it was the name of her last album and she has it tattooed on her neck. The four-letter word means uncommon, or unusually remarkable, and Gomez said it’s what she wants to feel about herself, after feeling less than in her past relationships, adding she thinks they’ve been “cursed.”

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The “De Una Vez” singer famously dated Nick Jonas, Taylor Lautner, Justin Bieber, and The Weeknd and although she didn’t go into specifics Gomez said, “I think most of my experiences in relationships have been cursed. I’ve been way too young to be exposed to certain things when I was in relationships.” Gomez continued, “I guess I needed to find what was that word for me, because I felt so less than in past relationships, and never really felt equal.”

For Gomez it wasn’t a way she felt at the time, but knew she wanted to, “And so that word to me – when I first heard it … I just said this is what I want to feel about myself. So it wasn’t even necessarily like: ‘Oh, I feel that way, let me sing it.’ It was almost like: ‘Actually, I need to feel that way about myself,” the businesswoman explained.

The “Baila Conmigo” singer has been open about her struggles with mental health and she created the Rare Impact Find as part of her beauty brand‘s commitment toggle poles access to the resources they need to support their mental health. Gomez told Vogue she wants Rare Beauty “to become a platform for mental health and for young women or men who deal with anything – insecurities, depression, anxiety. That’s why it was necessary for me to start the Rare Impact Fund, and our goal is to raise a hundred million dollars in 10 years.” Rare Beauty donates 1% of all sales directly to the Rare Impact Fund.