Selena Gomez Dreams Of Starting A Family And Stepping Away From Her Career
Gomez says her 8-year-old step-sister is the reason she knows she wants to focus on being a mom in the future.
The ever-present conundrum of every working mom is finding the perfect balance between having a great career and being a present, loving mom. The other conundrum is coming to grips with the fact that it’s in all likelihood an impossible feat. Selena Gomez says she’s already figured this out at 30 — although she’s not a mom quite yet!
The Only Murders in the Building star dished about her personal feelings about motherhood on the TaTaTu series, Giving Back Generation. She chatted with hosts Raquelle Stevens and Ashley Cook (who also happen to be two of her closest friends) about her dreams of starting a family, becoming a mom, and why she desires to do so.
"I hope to be married and to be a mom," Gomez, who is currently single, confessed.
She gives credit to her 8-year-old half sister, Gracie Teefey, for her desire to be a mom one day. "She puts things in perspective," she said. "I have to basically watch this little person grow into a human being. There’s no better feeling the world. I kind of feel like a parent in a way, even though I’m not."
When the Wizards of Waverly Place alum was 5 years old, her parents — Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefey — split up. Her mom then remarried Brian Teefey, and they welcomed Gomez’s half-sister — Gracie — in June 2013.
It’s no secret that Gomez has a deep love for her little sister as she has expressed her admiration on social media several times. In a more recent Instagram post, Selena wrote, “forever my favorite human” underneath a cute photo of the sisters in a warm embrace.
Her close and protective relationship with her sister could also be the catalyst for why Selena explained she’d step back from the spotlight when she decides to settle down with a family. "Eventually, I'm going to be tired of all of this, so I'm probably just going to devote most of my life to philanthropy before I peace out ... keeping it real,” she explained.
The “all of this” the actor is referring to in that confession would be the Hollywood spotlight and all the attention that comes with it. This would not be the first time Gomez has alluded to her need to take a step back from Hollywood.
Though the actress boasts an impressive 341 million followers on Instagram, she has taken space from the app and all social media for her mental health. "If anybody know me, I'm an extremist. So it's either one way or the other way," she said. "So I actually got rid of my Instagram on my phone and gave that power to my assistant. So everything I post, I just text it to her instead of having to worry about going on and off. I don't even know my password."
She went on to encourage others to take a social media break as a way to improve mental health. “... just maybe take the weekend off, or start with a day where you just don't pay attention to it and really be present for what's around you." She added, "I think that's so crucial and a part of our mental health."