In a truly strange turn of events, The Weeknd just registered a song called “Like Selena.” Considering he spent most of 2017 dating none other than Selena Gomez, that certainly has people talking.

Below, revisit The Weeknd and Selena’s relationship, pre- and post-breakup, as a refresher before you stream the new song.

January 11, 2017

TMZ releases paparazzi photos that show Selena and The Weeknd (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye) making out outside of Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. This is about two months after Bella and The Weeknd reportedly split and a little more than a month after they shared a deliciously awkward moment on the runway of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Paris.

The kissing photos immediately go viral, in part because Selena is friends with Bella’s sister Gigi, making this the perfect recipe for a celebrity #SquadWar. Bella quietly unfollows Selena on Instagram, and so it begins.

According to E! News, The Weeknd has “always had a thing for Selena.” He thinks she is “extremely talented and sexy,” E! News’ source revealed. “They recently started talking before the holidays but she has been on his radar before....They are taking things slow and getting to know each other.”

That makes this photo, taken at the 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, extra awkward:

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January 12, 2017

Selena takes a suuuper-sexy photo, shot by photographer Mert Alas, in which she’s nude except for a barely-there thong. The original photo, which appeared on Alas’s Instagram and included a tag for The Weeknd (a fan page, no less) and a heart emoji, is soon taken down—but not before fans who know how to take a screencap get involved.

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January 13, 2017

In what seems to be a direct response to Selena’s topless photo, Bella posts her own sexy selfie featuring some serious side-boob.

January 15, 2017

Selena is spotted listening to The Weeknd’s latest album, Starboy, while on her way to church in West Hollywood. Later that night, TMZ catches up with her outside Italian restaurant Terroni in L.A. They try asking her about Bella and The Weeknd, but you can guess how that went.

January 17, 2017

A “source close to the supermodel” tells People that Bella and The Weeknd’s split “wasn’t dramatic, but of course she’s hurt and pissed that he’s moved on so quickly with Selena.”

January 18, 2017

A “Gomez insider” tells Us Weekly that Selena and The Weeknd “started hanging out as friends and it became romantic....They’re working on very sexy music, so it spilled over.”

Meanwhile, a “Hadid pal” claims that “Bella has reached out to Abel a few times and told him Selena is using him,” since Selena has a history of loving and leaving her music collaborators (see Zedd and Charlie Puth). Apparently, The Weeknd isn’t buying it. “He thinks she’s just jealous and isn’t listening to her,” says the Hadid pal. Us Weekly’s report echoes TMZ, who spoke to a trusty “Bieber source” who said Biebs believes Selena is involved with The Weeknd only to promote music.

January 25, 2017

Selena and Abel sort of make things Instagram official by following each other online. Meanwhile, one source tells E! News that Selena and Abel’s relationship has been “sexy and flirty” and that they’ve been texting “every day.” TMZ also reports that the new couple showed up at a weeknight hang at Dave & Buster’s in Hollywood with friends Jaden Smith and French Montana.

January 30, 2017

Selena and Abel travel to Italy together, first visiting Florence, where they rent out an entire restaurant for a private dinner, then Venice, where they enjoy a boat ride. Selena appears on his Instagram Story while taking in Botticelli’s Venus at the Uffizi Gallery; he appears in a now-deleted Instagram video on her account, along with the heart-eyes emoji.


February 14, 2017

TMZ releases photos of Selena and Abel making out and relaxing on a luxury yacht in Marina del Rey, California. According to the site, the Leight Star costs around $85,000 to rent for one week, NBD. TMZ also reports that Selena picked up the $30,000 tab for Abel’s 27th birthday party at Dave & Buster’s in Hollywood the night before, even though she didn’t attend. (Selena’s on the East Coast for New York Fashion Week.)

February 15, 2017

The Weeknd’s new song with Toronto rapper Nav receives truckloads of attention thanks to one line that may or may not be about Justin Bieber’s bedroom skills (or lack thereof). In “Some Way,” The Weeknd sings, “I think your girl, think your girl, fell in love with me / She say my fuck and my tongue game a remedy.” The song’s hook is also noteworthy: “Oh yeah, yeah, I just hit a lick and I know you feeling some way / I just took that chick and I know you feeling some way, oh yeah / She just want a n*gga like me, you feeling some way, way, way, yeah / She just want a n*gga like me, I play no games.”

February 21, 2017

Selena appears on her mom Mandy’s Instagram account for family game night. Fans are quick to point out that Selena is wearing what appears to be a shirt from The Weeknd’s merchandise line. Sneaky!


February 26, 2017

Selena joins Abel on the European leg of his Starboy World Tour, according to some fan Instagram Stories.

March 18, 2017

Selena and Abel jet to his hometown of Toronto for a romantic weekend, which includes everything from holding hands and shopping to The Weeknd renting a VIP section of a movie theater so the two could watch Get Out.

April 15, 2017

Selena and The Weeknd are spotted canoodling all over Coachella.

Selena also uses the occasion to post her first-ever Instagram with The Weeknd since the two began dating. Guess you can finally say these guys are #InstaOfficial. Finally.

May 1, 2017

Selena and The Weeknd finally make their red-carpet debut as a couple at the 2017 Met Gala in New York City, wearing Coach and Valentino, respectively.

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Look. At. Them. 😚

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May 18, 2017

Selena releases a new single, “Bad Liar,” which, according to the song’s cowriter Justin Tranter, is about “someone new.” Note Tranter’s use of “Xo” in his tweet—The Weeknd has a song called “Xo.” See what’s happening here?

June 5, 2017

Selena and The Weeknd surface in New York City as his Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour continues on the East Coast. Selena steps out in a gorgeous satin dress while on a dinner date with her beau at Italian hot spot Rao’s.

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SplashNews

Before their date, Selena shares more photos of her gorgeous dress on Instagram and even tags The Weeknd in one of them. Subtle.

June 6, 2017

Selena posts an important cheesecake update to her Instagram Story and calls The Weeknd her “boyfriend.”

In an interview with Sirius XM earlier that day, Selena expertly dodges a question about Taylor Swift’s new boyfriend Joe Alwyn by talking about her own relationship. “I love being supportive, like, I love just being there and just kind of having somebody’s back. It feels good, I haven’t had that feeling in a while,” she added of going to his shows.

Following The Weeknd’s first of two shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Selena and Abel enjoy yet another dinner date in the Big Apple, this time with Selena stepping out in a sheer number and high ponytail.

July 9, 2017

In a fan Q and A, Selena briefly talks about The Weeknd, calling him her “boyfriend” and commenting on his looks. To no one’s surprise, she thinks he’s “cute.”

July 24, 2017

Following a weekend of cake, balloons, and friends, Selena continues her 25th birthday celebration by reuniting with The Weeknd in Hollywood (he was away for the bigger party). According to the Daily Mail, the couple hung out at Soho House into the wee hours of Monday morning, with Selena stepping out in a long Grecian-inspired blush pink gown and The Weeknd in a black T-shirt, jeans, and dark-green vest.

August 3, 2017

Selena opens up about her love life to InStyle, saying she’s “really” happy in her relationship and that “it’s great.” She also offered this: “I don’t depend on one area of my life to make me happy. It’s really important for me to love and nourish my friends and family and to make sure that I never get influenced by a guy. I’ve wanted to be in a strong headspace for years, and I really wasn’t. Before, I was so young and easily influenced, and I’d feel insecure. You want someone to add to your life, not to complete you, if that makes sense. I’m lucky because he’s more of a best friend than anything else.”

August 12, 2017

Selena and Abel have a date night at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Look at them laugh.

August 20, 2017

Selena appears on The Weeknd’s Instagram Story as he’s playing video games and not eating the delicious quesadillas placed before him. His caption: “Home.”

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Instagram | The Weeknd

September 5, 2017

Selena and Abel appear in a rare photo together on her Instagram page.

September 14, 2017

Selena reveals in an Instagram post that she had a kidney transplant and that her donor was friend and actress Francia Raisa. “I’m very aware some of my fans noticed I was laying low for part of the summer. I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my lupus and I was recovering,” she wrote. Of Francia, Selena said, “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed.”

According to People, The Weeknd scheduled his tour around Selena’s surgery and recovery. “Abel has been one of her biggest supports,” says a source. “She had been traveling with him on his tour and he was off during her surgery and right after during her recovery. He’s been very caring and it’s meant a lot to her to have him by her side.”

October 30, 2017

People reports that Selena and The Weeknd split after 10 months of dating. One insider says their relationship was a “back-and-forth” for months and their work schedules got in the way.

“It’s been hard with him being on tour and her shooting in New York. That wasn’t easy on them.” The news comes a day after Selena was spotted going to church and grabbing breakfast with her ex Justin Bieber...which eventually led to a mini Jelena reconciliation.

November 30, 2017

Selena talks about the split publicly in an interview with Billboard, saying that even though it ended with The Weeknd, things are good between them.

“Something that I’m really proud of is that there’s such a true friendship [between us],” she said. “I truly have never experienced anything like that in my life. We ended it as best friends, and it was genuinely about encouraging and caring [for each other], and that was pretty remarkable for me.”

May 17, 2018

The Weeknd releases an EP called My Dear Melancholy in 2018, and he talks to Time about how working on it helped him through his breakup with Selena.

“You want to get it out. It’s like you close a chapter,” he said. “[But] I don’t want to open that Pandora’s box, talking about relationships. Prior to Melancholy, I had a whole album written, done, which wasn’t melancholy at all because it was a different time in my life.”

November 26, 2019

In a truly WTF move, The Weeknd registers a new song called “Like Selena,” due to come out in only a matter of days. Hmmmmm. Wonder who that could be about.