Selena Gomez’s collaborative new album with her fiancé, Benny Blanco, is mostly a celebration of love, but there are a couple moments when she decides to direct her attention to an ex. The most telling standout is the morose ballad “How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten?,” in which Gomez shuts the door on a former flame once and for all. Of course, the subject matter will call to mind Gomez’s longest-lasting relationship with Justin Bieber, and there’s one lyrical reference that adds more fuel to the speculation this song may be aimed at him.
On “How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten?,” Gomez looks down on an ex who hasn’t seemed to process that she’s happily with someone new:
’Cause you walked in, big-*ss grin / Talkin’ like we’re friends, honey, what were you thinkin’? / He loves me, I love him / Look at you, just look at you now
That last line will stand out to Gomez’s fans as a lyrical allusion to her 2019 single “Look at Her Now,” which is widely believed to be about her breakup with Bieber.
In the chorus, Gomez digs into her ex even deeper, calling him “embarrassing” and suggesting that he needs to “heal,” while repeating that she has wiped her mind clean of him.
You’re so embarrassing / Go cry when no one’s watchin’ / I can’t imagine it / How does it feel to be forgotten? / How does it feel? / I hope one day you heal / How does it feel to be forgotten?
Gomez and Bieber famously dated on-and-off from 2010 to 2018. The same year as their final breakup, Bieber got engaged to his now-wife, Hailey Bieber. In 2023, Gomez began dating her longtime friend Benny Blanco. After getting engaged at the end of 2024, Gomez and Blanco released I Said I Love You First as a testament to their love story. And, apparently, it also includes their final farewell to Gomez’s past paramours.
