Francia Raisa Opens Up About Donating Her Kidney to Selena Gomez
After the friendship between former BFFs Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa became strained, Francia recently decided to open up about donating her kidney to Selena in 2017.
At the time, Selena was battling organ damage due to lupus. During Francia’s interview in the Good Guys Podcast, the 35-year-old Mexican-Honduran actress was prompted to share, “I just felt it in my heart; I knew I was a match.” According to her, she knew right away that she would donate one of her kidneys to Selena. After the surgery, the two were as close as ever. They were even seen with matching tattoos that reflected the date of their operation.
Francia said that she wasn’t forced by Selena or anyone else to donate her organ. Her decision was purely motivated by the desire to see her friend healthy. She went on to say that she has since been richly blessed.
Because of it, Francia considers herself a walking success story. Her donation enabled her to save Selena’s life. It also encouraged her to start taking better care of herself. Francia has become an advocate of organ donation and its life-changing benefits.
For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the Francia-Selena friendship, here’s a history lesson and an update on how they’re doing.
The Story of Selena and Francia’s Friendship
Francia and Selena first met in 2007 when both were still teenagers. The two instantly had a connection and developed a close friendship. As celebrities with high-profile careers, they were frequently seen attending red-carpet events together.
But even an organ donation wasn’t enough to keep them close. Several times, their friendship was put to the test under the public eye.
A year after receiving Francia’s kidney, it was reported that Selena had been consuming alcohol and partying. This led Francia to confront the former Disney star her and her unhealthy choices. It didn’t sit well with Selena.
When Selena checked into a rehab facility in 2018 after suffering a mental breakdown, their friendship was again challenged. During Selena’s interview with Rolling Stones Magazine, she was quoted as saying that her only friend in the industry was Taylor Swift.
Francia responded and wrote “interesting” on Instagram. She then unfollowed Selena from the social media app, making her sentiments clear as day. Adding insult to injury was a TikTok video that commented on the mounting tension between the two. Selena snidely wrote in the comment section: “Sorry, I didn’t mention every person I know.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t get better from there. In Selena’s Apple TV+ documentary, My Mind and Me, she again failed to mention Francia’s name. This was a glaring omission given that the show’s topic was mental and physical health.
For several months after the show’s November 2022 release, relations between the two remained strained even if Francia has said that she has no beef with her former BFF. The How I Met Your Father actress even posted a birthday tribute to Selena.
When asked by TMZ last month about her relationship with Selena, Francia was tight-lipped but confirmed that the feuding has stopped. It seems that the two have begun mending their friendship after Francia followed Selena on Instagram again. And in today’s social media-savvy world, that’s as good a sign as any of a possible reconciliation.
