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Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa Seemingly Bury the Hatchet After Feud! Inside Their Friendship
Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa have been through thick and thin. The besties’ friendship goes way back, but the actresses have experienced a few ups and downs throughout their friendship. In the end, though, Selena and Francia persevered through it all!
How Did Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa Become Friends?
Selena and Francia first met in 2007 while attending a charity event hosted by Disney and its affiliate, ABC Family (now Freeform). At the time, Selena was the star of the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place and Francia was a cast member on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. After meeting for the first time, the two buddies became inseparable.
What Did Francia Raisa Do for Selena Gomez?
Due to her lupus diagnosis in 2015, Selena needed to undergo a kidney transplant, and Francia agreed to be her donor in September 2017. The Only Murders in the Building actress, of course, made sure to publicly thank her friend.
“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” Selena captioned an Instagram post at the time, featuring a photo of them holding hands and lying down in hospital beds. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much, sis.”
Two months later, Selena fought back tears when she accepted Billboard’s Woman of the Year award, saying that Francia should have gotten the recognition instead of her.
“I think Francia should be getting this award,” Selena said as Francia stood behind her on stage. “She saved my life.”
In March 2018, however, Francia opened up about the depression both she and Selena experienced following the surgery.
“It’s harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose,” Francia explained during an appearance on Harry. “I couldn’t do anything active. I couldn’t move for two months. That was very hard for me. I have a dog, and every day, the thing I look forward to in the morning is drinking my coffee and walking him, and I couldn’t do that. It was really, really hard.”
Nevertheless, the actresses’ friendship didn’t falter! The two went on to appear in various social media posts together, including one that Francia shared in March 2021 in honor of World Kidney Day.
“If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’ve kept my kidney donation process pretty private,” Francia tweeted at the time. “However, I think I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I feel comfortable and confident in speaking about my experience, and using my platform to raise awareness for the various kidney diseases that affect our population.”
In response, Selena praised her pal and commented, “Thank you for blessing me. I am forever grateful to you.”
Are Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa Still Friends?
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Selena and Francia, though. Fans grew concerned in November 2022 when they noticed that Francia reacted to a quote Selena said during an interview with Rolling Stone. In her interview, Selena called Taylor Swift her “only friend in the industry.”
In response, Francia stumbled across the quote in an Instagram post and wrote in a since-deleted comment, “Interesting.” Shortly after fans caught sight of Francia’s reaction, Selena seemingly addressed the controversy by commenting under a TikTok video that discussed the friends’ apparent rift.
“Sorry, I didn’t mention every friend I know,” Selena noted. Shortly afterward, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the two were no longer following each other on social media.
However, Selena and Francia’s apparent feud was short lived. The “Lose You to Love Me” artist took to Instagram in July 2023 to wish Francia a “Happy Birthday.”
“Happiest of birthdays to this special human being,” Selena captioned her post, which featured snapshots of her and Francia over the years. “No matter where life takes us, I love you.” Shortly after, the ladies reunited for a BFF dinner date in Los Angeles on August 11, where they unintentionally wore coordinating outfits.
Was Francia Raisa ‘Forced’ to Donate Her Kidney to Selena Gomez?
The actress has shot down rumors she felt pressured to give Selena one of her kidneys. “I just felt it in my heart. I knew it was a match, I knew it was going to happen. No one forced me to do anything,” Francia said on the August 1, episode of the “Good Guys” podcast, adding, “It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart. I have been super blessed ever since.”
