As Justin and Hailey Bieber prepare to welcome their first child, the media speculation over the state of their six-year marriage remains just as intense as ever.
In a candid interview with W Magazine, Hailey Bieber hits back at some of the scrutiny, telling the publication that while she’s accustomed to living her life in the spotlight, dealing with the rumor mill hasn’t gotten easier with time.
“People have made me feel so bad about my relationship since day one. ‘Oh, they’re falling apart. They hate each other. They’re getting divorced,’” the model said. “It’s like people don’t want to believe that we’re happy.”
She went on to note, “I used to try to act like it hurts less and less. I’ve tried to think that you get used to it at a certain point, that this is what’s going to be said and this is how people are going to be. But I realize that it doesn’t actually ever hurt any less.”
Hailey Bieber, who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and designer Kennya Baldwin, was first romantically linked with Justin Bieber in 2015.
Though the pair’s initial relationship fizzled quickly, they rekindled their romance in June 2018 ― just weeks after Hailey Bieber walked arm-in-arm with Shawn Mendes at the Met Gala, and Justin Bieber and longtime girlfriend Selena Gomez seemingly parted ways. That fall, the two were married.
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Appearing on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in 2022, Hailey Bieber said she continued to be accused online of coming between Justin Bieber and Gomez, and clarified that her husband was very much single when they got together.
“I understand how it looked from the outside and there’s a lot of perception there, but that was a situation where I know for a fact that it was the right thing for them to close that door,” she said, referring to Justin Bieber’s ties to Gomez. “They were not in a relationship at that time but of course, there’s a very long history there.”
She doubled down on that stance in an interview on Bloomberg’s “The Circuit” last year.
“I don’t think that this is about me, Hailey Bieber, and Selena Gomez,” she explained. “This is not about this pitting between two women ― it’s about the vile, disgusting hatred that can come from completely made-up and twisted, and perpetuated narratives that can be really dangerous.”
Elsewhere in the W Magazine chat, Hailey Bieber acknowledged that she and her family are “not super close” these days, as she’s made efforts to live a “very independent” life. At present, she’s taking full advantage of the time she and Justin Bieber have remaining as a couple without children.
“I’m trying to soak in these days of it being Justin and me,” she said, “just the two of us.”