Selena Gomez on Life After Justin Bieber Split: "It's Been Weird and Sad and Cool"

Selena Gomez has been putting on a happy face in the wake of her recent breakup from on-again/off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber, but if her performance in New York this weekend is any indication, there's more to the situation than meets the eye. Taking the stage for a private concert benefiting UNICEF on Jan. 19, the 20-year-old singer made several cryptic references to moving on from an old relationship.

Selena Gomez arrives at the InStyle And Warner Bros. Golden Globe Party on January 13, 2013.
Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

"I've been through a lot the past few months. It's been weird and sad and cool," she told the crowd before introducing an acoustic cover of Justin Timberlake's scorned lover's anthem "Cry Me a River." "This song definitely speaks to me."

Gomez didn't specifically mention Bieber, but a source at the event tells Us  she "seemed so angry" during the song. (Incidentally, her ex performed the same tune in concert a few months ago.)

Prior to the show, however, the newly single Wizards of Waverly Place actress was all smiles as she spoke to reporters on the red carpet. And she seemed to light up when asked about her friendship with fellow starlet Taylor Swift.

"Taylor is one of the most inspirational, positive, good-hearted people I know," she gushed of her BFF, who recently went through a breakup of her own, with One Direction boy-bander Harry Styles. "I met her when she was 18...it was absolutely incredible to see someone so successful and so humble. I think she's been a big part of me staying who I am, too."

Gomez also discussed her risque role in the upcoming movie Spring Breakers, in which she plays one of four bikini-clad co-eds who rob a restaurant to pay for their spring break trip. "It's kind of been refreshing and nice for me to step out of my comfort zone and do things that I didn't think I could do as an actress," she said, noting that she had tried to warn her younger fans about the film.

The singer revealed that she was taking more risks offscreen, as well, particularly with her music. "I'm a little bit more mouthy [now]," she said of her new album. "I'm a little bit older. I've got a little more sass. [I'm] telling a lot more, too."

"Everything happens for a reason," she added mysteriously, "so enjoy every moment."

Justin Bieber Pulls Down Pants, Moons the Camera

Justin Bieber is full of surprises. On the heels of his recent breakup with Selena Gomez and a headline-making marijuana controversy, the 18-year-old singer showed off his bare butt in an Instagram picture Saturday, Jan. 19.

Credit: justinbieber/Instagram

Wear a black tank top, a baseball hat and aviator sunglasses, the "Beauty and the Beat" singer peers over his shoulder in the image. Bieber deleted the image shortly after it was posted to his official account, though it had already been liked more than 15,000 times and received more than 2,700 comments.

Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, joked about the picture via Twitter. "As a prankster you have to respect another good prank," he wrote. "Only makes sense. #crackdealer." Bieber's succinct reply: "Haha."

The Canadian pop star is currently on tour to support his latest album, Believe. He next performs at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Jan. 19. He'll travel to Georgia and Florida throughout the month before taking his act to Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 17.

Selena Gomez Looks Happy, Flashes Cleavage After Justin Bieber Breakup

Eat your heart out, Justin Bieber.

In her first post-split appearance, Selena Gomez showed her ex what he's missing by wearing a cleavage-baring, turquoise Alberta Ferretti dress in L.A. Jan. 10.

Actress Selena Gomez attends the Alberta Ferretti and Vogue Limited Edition Collection 2013 Fashion Show and dinner hosted by Alberta Ferretti and Lisa Love to benefit the "Protect a Child" Campaign by Jordan River Foundation at Chateau Marmont on January 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Credit: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage.com

At the Vogue event in the designer's honor, an upbeat Gomez chatted with Chelsea Lately host Chelsea Handler, 37. The Spring Breakers star has yet to publicly comment on her split with Bieber, 18.

The exes were first linked in November 2010 after a "cuddly" IHOP date, though they denied dating until the spring of 2011. The Wizards of Waverly Place actress and the "As Long as You Love Me" singer called it quits in November 2012.

"Selena broke up with Justin about a week ago. It's been a really challenging experience over the last year because of their crazy schedules," an insider told Us Weekly at the time. "Selena definitely had some major trust issues with Justin."

The pair soon reconnected and were spotted kissing and holding hands at an American Music Awards afterparty weeks later. While vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a New Year's trip, "They had another huge fight, and Selena won't forgive him," a source reveals in the Jan. 21 issue of Us Weekly (out now). "Selena is done with him."

In the wake of their split, Bieber was photographed smoking what appears to be marijuana on Jan. 2, just one day after a paparazzo was killed chasing his Ferrari. (Bieber was not in the vehicle at the time.)


Bieber is now being accused of assaulting Moshe Benabou, an ex-member of the Israeli army who worked as his bodyguard from March 2011 to October 2012. Benabou is seeking unspecified damages for assault and battery, in addition to $420,000 in unpaid overtime.

A source close to Bieber, however, insists the "whole thing is baseless and meritless. Justin never hit him and couldn't! He is so much smaller. This whole thing is a lie."