Selena Gomez has shared her concerns about the possibility of not being able to have her own children due to potential risks associated with the medication she takes for bipolar disorder. The 30-year-old singer, who has been on medication since experiencing psychosis in 2018, expressed her emotional struggle, revealing that the thought of it hindering her ability to carry a baby brings her to tears.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Selena opened up about a poignant moment when she visited a friend trying to conceive and found herself sitting in a car, overcome with emotion.

Acknowledging the significant impact of staying on two types of medication to manage her bipolar disorder, Selena admitted, ‘That’s a very big, big, present thing in my life.’ Despite the challenges, she remains determined to become a mother, emphasizing, ‘However I’m meant to have them, I will.’

The NHS notes that the risks of taking bipolar medications during pregnancy are not well understood, and certain types are not recommended for pregnant women due to potential harm to the baby. According to WebMD, specific medications may pose risks, including birth defects such as neural tube defects, heart defects, and developmental delays or neurobehavioral problems.

Selena shared that she grappled with suicidal thoughts starting in her mid-twenties when she realized her life didn’t unfold as she had imagined during her childhood. Being candid about her journey, she revealed, ‘I’ve been to four treatment centres. I think when I started hitting my early twenties is when it started to get really dark when I started to feel like I was not in control of what I was feeling, whether that was really great or really bad.’

The emotional highs and lows she experienced could stretch for weeks or months without any apparent trigger, manifesting as prolonged insomnia or manic episodes where she felt compelled to buy cars for everyone she knew.

Selena expressed the profound impact of deviating from her childhood vision of being married at 25, admitting, ‘It wrecked me that I was nowhere near that — couldn’t be farther from it. It was so stupid, but I really thought my world was over. I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong.’

Struggling with a lack of fulfilment and identity, Selena initially coped with psychosis by taking whatever medication was prescribed in treatment. Eventually, with the guidance of a psychiatrist, she fine-tuned her medication, reducing it to only two. Delving deep into her mental health journey, she explores these aspects in her Apple TV+ documentary, ‘Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,’ set for release on November 4. Reflecting on the decision to share such a personal narrative, she said, ‘I was like, “OK, if I can just do that for one person, imagine what it could do.” Eventually I just kind of went for it. I just said, “Yes.”’