A dedicated group of Selena Gomez enthusiasts speculate that her track "Younger and Hotter Than Me" could subtly honor her best friend, Taylor Swift. On March 21st, Friday, Gomez, now 32, unveiled her latest album, I Said I Loved You First, a collaborative effort with her fiancé, Benny Blanco. In the poignant ballad "Younger and Hotter Than Me," Gomez reflects on her days as a child star and the heartaches of past relationships. She croons, "For thinkin' you were different / Wish I never loved you," and laments, "We’re not gettin’ any younger / But your girlfriends seem to."
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for her keen-eyed fans to decipher the potential nod in the chorus lyrics (referenced above) to a hit penned and sung by Swift, 35. Swift belts out in the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," a song widely speculated to chronicle her fleeting, age-disparate romance with Jake Gyllenhaal, "And I was never good at tellin’ jokes, but the punch line goes / ‘I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age.’" This extended version of the Red album track was released in 2021 as part of its rerecorded album.
Neither Gomez nor Swift, with the latter's romantic partner Blanco, aged 37, have openly discussed whether "Younger and Hotter Than Me" was inspired by "All Too Well," despite the two women sharing a tight bond since the dawn of the 2000s. Their friendship began in 2008 when Gomez and Swift started dating Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas, respectively, brothers who were part of the popular band at that time.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2020, Swift fervently declared, "From the moment I met [Selena], I knew I'd always stand by her side. I'm capable of forgiving those who've hurt me, but I'm unsure if I could ever forgive someone who harms her." Gomez, on her part, echoed similar sentiments, revealing to the same outlet that they "hit it off instantly."
"She's my girl," Gomez enthusiastically shared during that time. "We both faced challenges simultaneously, and she taught me invaluable lessons about how I deserved to be treated at such a young age."
Their close-knit bond extends to their current relationships as well — Gomez with Blanco and Swift with NFL star Travis Kelce, both couples embarking on their journeys together in 2023.
Recalling a hilarious anecdote, Gomez shared on Spotify's Countdown To series earlier this week, "It was actually quite amusing. As a couple, we attended Taylor's party after some award show. It was kind of cute, but I was embarrassed. Apparently, being fashionably late is a thing among the cool people."
Meanwhile, Blanco noted that as a couple, they are often the "earliest arrivals at every party" they attend. He chuckled, "You arrive as early as my mother does to a party. I thought you were going to mention how we kept our relationship a secret, avoiding even the slightest physical contact or eye contact in public."
Blanco popped the question to Gomez in December 2024, and Swift eagerly volunteered to be part of the bridal party. "Yes, I will be the flower girl," she eagerly commented on their engagement post on Instagram.
