Selena Gomez revealed on Thursday that her recent silence on social media was due to a kidney transplant she underwent thanks to conditions related to her Lupus. Now, sources have revealed to People just how intense the process was, and how Gomez's boyfriend, The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) was with her every step of the way, and apparently even scheduled his tour dates around the operation.
"It was a super serious operation," the source explained. "And all her friends were worried."
"Abel has been one of her biggest supporters. She had been traveling with him on his tour and he was off during her surgery and right after during her recovery," an insider also revealed. "He’s been very caring and it’s meant a lot to her to have him by her side."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
In Gomez's initial announcement, which she did via an Instagram post, the 25-year-old finally addressed fans' concerns that she wasn't doing much to drum up promotion for her music.
"I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of," the post began. "So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health."
"I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you," she continued. "Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, there aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis."
Refinery29 has reached out to TheWeeknd and Selena Gomez for comment and will update the post if we hear back.