Hailey Bieber‘s decision to tell the “truth” about rumors her husband, Justin Bieber, cheated on Selena Gomez with her has sparked accusations that she is doing damage control.
In a new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, which is set to be released on Wednesday, Hailey Bieber, 25, is seen discussing her relationship with pop heartthrob Justin Bieber, 28, to whom she has been married since 2018.
“How has being married to someone with that level of fame impacted your identity?” host Alexandra Cooper asked the model, prompting her to respond: “Where do I start?”
The 55-second trailer then cut to a discussion about speculation that her relationship with Justin Bieber overlapped with his and Gomez’s romance.
Gomez, 30, and Justin Bieber were first romantically linked in 2010, and went on to have an on-again, off-again relationship over a span of several years, before severing ties for good in March 2018.
Canadian-born “Sorry” crooner Justin Bieber began dating Hailey Bieber soon after, with the couple tying the knot in September 2018. Per Us Weekly, the pair previously had a brief relationship from December 2015.
The timing of the relationships led to a long-running assertion from fans that Justin Bieber had, at one point, dated both women at the same time—speculation which Hailey Bieber appears to address on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
“Your husband was in a very public relationship,” Cooper said to Hailey Bieber on the podcast. “People were obsessed with them being together. Were you ever with Justin romantically at the same time as her?”
“Umm, this is so crazy,” Hailey Bieber responded. “I’ve literally never talked about this, ever. A lot of the hate and the perpetuation comes from like, ‘Oh, you stole him!’ It’s about people knowing the truth—because there’s a truth.”
When the trailer was shared on social media, a host of Twitter users questioned the timing of her interview, particularly as a trailer for Gomez’s upcoming Apple+ documentary, My Mind and Me, was released last week.
Sam Wieder, Commerce Editor at BuzzFeed, wrote in a tweet that Gomez “is literally just living her life and thriving, why is this happening and who cares especially after all these years.”
Commented another: “And OF COURSE Hailey is trying to clear their reputation before Selena’s documentary I wonder why… anyways my mind and me out november 4th don’t forget to tune in. no selena no clout!”
“I find it amusing how they are trying to make themselves look better right before selena releases #MyMindAndMe and finally spills the truth,” said another.
“#MyMindAndMe is coming and they know it,” read another comment amid the wave of reactions.
Said another detractor: “going on a podcast to get your ‘truth’ out about your 4 year marriage right before someone releases an appletv+ documentary about their entire life is weird and tacky.”
