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Selena Gomez has a documentary called Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me that just dropped on Apple TV+, and people are already poring over all the intimate details she’s sharing about her life and mental health struggles.
The documentary covers the last six years of Selena’s life, including all the ups and downs she has faced in her career and health. Specifically, the 30-year-old star talks candidly about her mental health, bipolar disorder, life as a child actress, and the whole Justin Bieber situation. Naturally, her family comes up, too.
As the documentary details, Selena was raised by a single mom, Mandy Teefey, who was the main driver of her career as a child star (shout-out to Barney & Friends!). Her biological dad wasn’t in the picture much while she was growing up, so people have a lot of questions about him. And yes, he is still alive. So, who is Selena’s dad, and what happened to him? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Selena’s biological dad?
Selena’s dad is Ricardo “Rick” Gomez, and he’s originally from Mexico. Rick and Selena’s mom, Mandy, met as teens in Texas, and Mandy gave birth to Selena in 1992, when they were both still in high school. The couple got married soon after she was born, according to Hollywood Life, but split up a few years later, when Selena was just five years old.
While Rick wasn’t super present in Selena’s life early on, the two seem pretty tight now.
What happened to her dad?
After the divorce, Rick eventually remarried (as did Mandy), and his new wife’s name is Sara Tovar Gomez. He shares a young daughter and stepson with Sara, and the kids show up frequently in his Instagram posts.
Is Selena close with her dad?
The pop star has spoken out about the fact that her dad was not very active in her childhood. “He didn’t want to be a part of this industry life, so it was really me and my mom, our journey,” she previously told Rolling Stone.
She does, however, have some memories with him. Selena told Harper’s Bazaar that Rick used to take her to Hooters to watch San Antonio Spurs games. “He started noticing that when I would come, with my little pigtails, all the waitresses would be like, ‘Hey!’ So he ended up half spending time with me but with all those cute girls coming over. And that became our thing,” she shared.
And Selena, whose namesake is the famous Mexican American singer Selena Quintanilla, has also been very open about embracing her Mexican heritage. She released her first Spanish-language EP back in 2021, putting in a lot of work with a vocal coach and translator to accurately capture slang and colloquialisms, per Texas Monthly.
What has Rick said about Selena?
He posted on Instagram for Selena’s birthday back in 2020, writing, “You will always be my beautiful little girl. I love you, mija. #happybirthday #godbless #grateful.”
And in another birthday post from 2018, Rick wrote, “When I look at you I remember the very moment you were born, and still today when I see you I am reminded of what special blessing God has given me.” Aww!
Rick is definitely very proud to be a #girldad, and posted another ‘gram back in 2020 that included a collage of photos with Selena and her half-sister, Tori. Which leads me to the next fun fact…
Selena has three other siblings.
She has two half-siblings and a stepsibling, including:
Gracie Elliot Teefey (half-sister, Amanda’s other daughter)
Victoria “Tori” Gomez (half-sister, Rick’s other daughter)
Marcus Gomez (stepbrother, Rick’s stepson)
Rick regularly posts photos of Selena’s half-sister and stepbrother:
And Selena has shared sweet shout-outs to Gracie, including calling her sister her “favorite human”:
I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely going to out My Mind & Me, streaming now on Apple TV+ this weekend!
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