Francia Raisa On Rekindling Friendship With Selena Gomez Six Years After Falling Out

In a new interview with USA Today, the How I Met Your Father star opened up about re-connecting with Gomez six years after the pair had a falling out, and shared who reached out to who.

“It’s still crazy to me that people were invested in our friendship,” Raisa told the outlet. “I don’t know why the timing happened the way it did, but I remember being in St. Tropez in June and I kept talking about her. We hadn’t spoken much in six years. Especially the last year, we didn’t speak at all.”

Then in July, Gomez wished Raisa a “Happy Birthday” on Instagram, which the actress “liked” in response, and the rest was history.

“I don’t know why the universe decided this timing,” Raisa said. “Then she reached out and said, ‘Let’s talk.'”

Shortly after that, Raisa was seen telling TMZ that there was no beef between her and Gomez, with the pair stepping out together for dinner just a few weeks later.

“We’ve never really had beef with each other. Nothing happened, and if you ask either of us, we don’t know what happened but we needed that time apart,” Raisa explained. “Then when you come back together, you’re better people. She and I are still getting to know each other again.”

She continued, “And obviously, you know, I gave the girl a kidney so everyone felt a certain way and I was asked for years and years and years, ‘Do you regret it?’ and I was like, ‘No, the relationship has always been there.’ There was just a tiff.”

Raisa previously spoke about their years-long friendship at Gomez’s Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in October, where the actress clarified that any past drama or conflict between the pair had “nothing to do” with her donating her kidney to Gomez.

“Sometimes, I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow,” Raisa told Extra TV.

“We had to almost go on our own journey and grow… I am really happy in my career now and my endeavor,” she continued. “I don’t know if I would be able to do that if I didn’t really take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me, because I wasn’t okay.”

Raisa added, “We trauma-bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky… People grow, relationships change. Obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister… I don’t know any relationship that’s perfect… When our situation came up… No, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it.”

Their “beef” or lack there of, helped inspire a catchy line of merch to accompany Raisa’s salsa line, with the actress selling shirts and hats that read, “no beef, just salsa.”

Gomez has been seen supporting Raisa’s brand, rocking matching crewnecks alongside her longtime friend, with Raisa’s HIMYF co-star, Hilary Duff and others also backing the brand.