The Weeknd Admits Writing Selena Gomez Breakup Songs Was ‘Cathartic’ After Their Split

In a new interview with ‘Esquire,’ The Weeknd revealed why there were only six songs on the album he wrote following his breakup from Selena Gomez in 2017.

The Weeknd was tasked with naming which five of his songs defined him best during his new interview with Esquire. Interestingly, no tracks from his 2018 EP, My Dear Melancholy, made the list. This record was released just months after The Weeknd’s split from Selena Gomez, and seemingly has many references to the singer, as well as another one of The Weeknd’s other famous exes, Bella Hadid.

Despite not referencing the EP in his five-song bio, though, The Weeknd did briefly touch on writing the album during his Esquire interview. “The reason why it was so short is like, I think I just had nothing else to say on this,” he explained. “Whatever. It was just, like, this cathartic piece of art. And yeah, it was short, because that’s all I had to say on the situation.” However, he did confirm that writing the record did make him feel better post-split. “That would have sucked if it didn’t,” he added.”

The Weeknd and Selena started dating in Jan. 2017, just a few months after his split from Bella. Their romance lasted until that October. After the split, it wasn’t long before Selena started spending time with her ex, Justin Bieber, again. That lasted until the beginning of March 2018 (now, Justin is married to Hailey Baldwin). Meanwhile, The Weeknd got back together with Bella in 2018. They split again in 2019, but have seemingly remained friendly in the aftermath of the breakup.

The song from My Dear Melancholy which created the most buzz about The Weeknd’s relationship with Selena was “Call Out My Name.” The track featured lyrics like, “I helped you out of a broken place” and “Guess I was just another pit stop ’til you made up your mind” (an apparent reference to Selena getting back together with Justin).

The Weeknd even hinted that he contemplated giving Selena one of his kidneys when she needed a life-saving transplant in 2017! “I almost cut a piece of myself for your life,” he sang. Selena eventually got the kidney from her friend, Francia Raisa.