Benny Blanco says his mom saw Selena Gomez as “the one” long before he did.
During a recent episode of his Friends Keep Secrets podcast, which he co-hosts with Lil Dicky and Kristin Batalucco, the producer opened up about his mother’s early admiration for Gomez.
Joined by special guests Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, Blanco shared a story about how his mom encouraged him to find someone like the “Come and Get It” singer years before the pair began dating.
“The crazy thing is [that in] 2019, I’m shooting a video with Selena. I’m dating someone else. My mom’s on the video shoot and she’s just sitting there and she’s like, ‘Hun, you should marry a Selena,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ and she was like, ‘You should be dating someone like Selena,’” he recalled.
Blanco added that he had always been especially fond of Gomez throughout their years of working together.
“There were two times in my life where I left a specific session or video with her where I was like, ‘Wow, she’s so cool. She’s like really cool,’ cause we were friendly and we were friends, but we weren’t like best friends,” he said. “Every time I hung out with her for an extended period of time, I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, she’s so cool.’”
According to Blanco, even one of his former girlfriends later recognized the connection he shared with Gomez.
“An ex-girlfriend of mine from way before that — like five years before that — I was texting with her one time and she’s like, ‘It’s so great you guys got married. I remember you talking so positively about Selena even when we were together, just as a friendly thing,” said Blanco.
“So your mom planted the seed,” Aaron Paul suggested, to which Blanco replied, “My mom planted the seed and she was like, ‘She’s got her head on her shoulders, she’s so sweet…Everyone says you always marry your best friend and it’s like she’s my f—ing best friend.’”
The pop star and Blanco first collaborated on songs including “Kill Em With Kindness” and “Same Old Love” in 2015, with Blanco co-writing and co-producing the latter for Gomez’s second solo studio album, Revival.
Released in October 2015, Revival debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Gomez’s first album to generate multiple top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The project also produced three No. 1 singles on the Pop Airplay chart.
In 2019, Gomez and Blanco released “I Can’t Get Enough,” their first official collaboration as lead artists. Four years later, in 2023, Blanco also worked as a producer on Gomez’s single “Single Soon.”
That same year, the pair began dating after years of friendship and creative collaborations. Gomez confirmed their relationship on social media in December 2023, and one year later, the couple announced their engagement.
Watch the Friends Keep Secrets episode here:
