Selena Gomez won’t hide her scars from the world.

On Thursday, the Mexican American singer-actress posted a photo to Instagram that instantly made headlines. In the photo, she was wearing blue one-piece half-zip bathing suit from her friend’s new swimwear line La’Mariette.

But it wasn’t the bathing suit that turned heads, but the scar that Gomez proudly displayed on her right inner thigh.

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When I got my kidney transplant, I remember it being very difficult at first showing my scar. I didn’t want it to be in photos, so I wore things that would cover it up. Now, more than ever, I feel confident in who I am and what I went through…and I’m proud of that. T – Congratulations on what you’re doing for women, launching @lamariette whose message is just that…all bodies are beautiful.

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 24, 2020 at 9:57am PDT

In the caption, Gomez opened up about her body-acceptance journey, specifically in regards to the scar she received from emergency surgery after her 2017 kidney transplant surgery.

“When I got my kidney transplant, I remember it being very difficult at first showing my scar,” she wrote in her caption. “I didn’t want it to be in photos, so I wore things that would cover it up. Now, more than ever, I feel confident in who I am and what I went through…and I’m proud of that. T – Congratulations on what you’re doing for women, launching @lamariette whose message is just that…all bodies are beautiful.”

The photo is notable because Gomez’s scar was first captured by paparazzi in 2018 while she was on a boating trip in Australia.

Back then, Gomez didn’t have control over narrative or how her body was presented to the world. But now she does. And a change like that makes all the difference.

Fans immediately praised Gomez’s bravery, adding comments like “You are so strong and powerful” and “Thank you for showing our scars are beautiful and all bodies are beautiful!”

A sufferer of lupus, Selena Gomez has had a long and difficult health journey. In 2017, she received a kidney transplant from her good friend and fellow Latina, Francia Raísa.

Gomez has previously been candid about how grateful she is to Raísa for saving her life. “My kidneys were just done,” Gomez explained in an interview with The Today Show. “That was it, and I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life. The thought of asking someone to do that was really difficult for me. [Raísa] volunteered and did it.”

But the scar that Gomez was displaying in her latest Instagram post was actually the result of an emergency follow-up surgery. According to Raisa, shortly after the kidney transplant, Gomez ruptured an artery. Doctors had to rush Gomez to the operating room to remove a vein in her leg and rebuild a new artery in order to keep the kidney in place.

As of now, Gomez’s body has healed, but as she implied in the caption above, she is still in the process of healing from the emotional trauma that comes with health problems. She truly is an inspiration to us all.

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In an infamous scene in the 1992 book Like Water for Chocolate, the novel’s main characters Tita and Pedro swear their undying love for each other within minutes of first meeting. Just like that, they experienced love at first sight. Stories all throughout history have detailed the romantic personal experience of an instant and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first sight. But how practical— or even true is that really?

We turned to our FIERCE readers to see just how prevalent this phenomenon is.

In a post to our Instagram page we asked Latinas for their love at first love stories.

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At first sight or the first time you meet. We want to hear your love stories.💕 We will also be featuring them in one of our articles so we can share them with all our FIERCEES.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #FIERCE #LoveStories #fiercepm

A post shared by Fierce by mitú (@fiercebymitu) on Sep 15, 2020 at 4:01pm PDT

And scavenged around Reddit for good measure. Check out what we discovered below!

“Yes. I had briefly met him before but it was the first time I ever really noticed him. We had a whirlwind romance and then he left to take a job in Europe. We kept in touch for a few years but never saw each other again. He is the gold standard I judge men by.” –
adorableadelita

“YES with my dog the second I saw him I knew he was the one!! I’ve had him for 17years now and we are happily ever after.”- virgok1

“Yes but I’m just not brave enough to tell them they’re beautiful tho, most incredible smile I’ve ever seen the most captivating set of eyes I’ve ever looked into. But well love from afar right?” –ta_ta1009

“Yes. And it was delicious, I’ll never forget those Tacos dorados. My one and only.”- funkycold___medina

“Yes! I never knew love could fill your heart like that so instantly and so completely! It was the first time I ever saw my niece! Best feeling in the world!”- yesi_lo

“Not in love but in strong lust.” – magnetic67

“Yes! And we just got married during the pandemic (very interesting way how we got married).”-21djenne

“Just when I first laid eyes 👀 on the paletero in my neighborhood. Jokes aside I love that man, he’s so sweet.”- dreathunder

“Yup met mine when I was 17 yrs old and knew I would marry them. Here we are 18 years later and still together.” –elizabeth_pearl

HelloSchrodi1 point·4 years ago

“We were both 18 going on 19. He was a second year science student, I was a fresh faced firstie at a brand new University. I was also 95% sure I was lesbian. I saw this goofy ginger at the outdoor movie theatre, he had Styrofoam strapped to his head and declared himself Julius Ceasar, and gave me the biggest and most genuine smile. When he asked my name, it was a genuine want not just a question you ask to fill time. My heart squeezed a bit, and we kept eye contact for a bit too long before we both turned back to the screen. The next day we ended up sitting across from eachother in the cafeteria, and as soon as I saw him sitting there with a grin on his gorgeous face I knew I could love him. We were attached at the hip for at least 8 hours every day for a month, it was like a need to be around eachother, a magnetic pull and attraction. We started dating after a few weeks. We both fell in love quickly. I never believed in love at first sight, but we fit together perfectly in every way and every day, even now as we’re 20 with a lot of growth and ‘relationship strainers’ under our belts there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by where I don’t think of him and fall further in love. We’ve fought a bit, met eachothers families, he’s held my hand in the hospital and I’ve held his. We’ve had the kids talk, marriage talk, finances talk, and we’re moving in together this summer. It’s also pretty great that we have the same taste in women. I have never been happier, and he tells me the same.”-HelloSchrodi

“We met at work, when we both locked eyes we were drawn to each other. After a week of flirting with each other and staring into her beautiful blue eyes, she actually asked ME out. We dated for 8 years and got engaged; being madly in love is perfection. She walked down the aisle about 13 months after she accepted my proposal. She gave birth to her first child 10 months later, and had her second 2 years after that. She’s very happy in her life. Kind of wished she married me instead of the dickhead she met a month after leaving me.” –UrMomLikesMine

“It was a whirlwind. Can’t really explain it. Distance and heavy workloads on both our parts (we couldn’t see each other at all one year) made us end it. Still best friends, still in a sort of a platonic bond. We’ve both seen other people since then (I’ve just had a bad experience), but I don’t think I’ve ever felt that kind of… ease around someone until months have passed. When she moves here in a few years, who knows? She never will, but if she asked me to wait. I’d say yes in a heasrtbeat.” –ionised

“Yes… now married 10 years.” – juju_bees_mommy

“Well for me it wasn’t at first sight. But for him it was. Within the first week he knew I would be the one he was going to marry and spend his life with. My feelings grew quickly also and we knew we had met our soul mate very quickly. We are doing great. He’s saving up for an engagement ring, both support eachother in our respective fields (me in tattoo artistry and him in filmmaking). Once our financial situation is in order we plan to move to Seattle. I have never been so in love and I don’t regret it for a second.”- BigHeroDicks

elizabeth_pearlYup met mine when I was 17 yrs old and knew I would marry them. Here we are 18 years later and still together ❤️❤️❤️ @fiercebymitu

elizabeth_pearlYup met mine when I was 17 yrs old and knew I would marry them. Here we are 18 years later and still together ❤️❤️❤️ @fiercebymitu

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