Selena Gomez and Francia Raísa's Friendship Over the Years

In a March 2018 interview with W magazine, Raísa revealed she met Gomez in 2007 when she was starring in "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and Gomez was doing "Wizards of Waverly Place." They became friends after attending a charity event together, and Raísa said they instantly bonded over boys.

"At the time I had a boyfriend, and she did, too — I think she was dating Nick [Jonas] — and we were like, 'Oh my God, we're so cute.' And then we broke up with them at the same time. But we just kept running into each other after that and talking about boys," she said. "One day she called me and was like, 'Hey, I don't have any friends. Why don't we ever hang out?' Then we've just been inseparable."

Raísa told W magazine she lived with Gomez for a short time in 2016. "She said, 'We can be homeless together,'" Raísa joked. Their living situation only brought them closer together, and it's actually how Raísa first learned of Gomez's need for a kidney donor due to her lupus diagnosis.

"She went to go get tests, and she came home one day and she was serious," Raísa recalled. At first, Raísa said she gave Gomez some space, but after the Disney alum "fell to the floor and started crying," Raísa knew something was terribly wrong. "She said, 'I need a new kidney. I don't know what I'm going to do, the waitlist is seven to 10 years.' And it just came out of me, and I said, 'I'll get tested,'" Raísa said. "I called her assistant behind her back to get the information, and that's how the process started."

In September 2017, Gomez announced on Instagram that she was recovering from a kidney transplant, which is why she had been quiet on social media. "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," Gomez 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."

While speaking to W magazine, Raísa explained that she and Gomez didn't immediately go public with news of their kidney transplant because recovery was "very hard" for them. "We went through a depression at the time," Raísa said. "We kind of just wanted to be normal and not have that attention on us."

In October 2017, Raísa and Gomez appeared on "Today" together to further talk about the procedure. Gomez said she was afraid to ask her loved ones to consider donating a kidney to her, so the fact that Raísa volunteered to get tested and was a match was "unbelievable."

In November 2017, Raísa accompanied Gomez to the Billboard Women in Music event, where the "Only Murders in the Building" star was given the Woman of the Year award. The two posed for photos on the red carpet together, and Raísa even presented Gomez with the award later that night. When Gomez took the stage, she honored her friend by starting her speech with, "I think Francia should be getting this award because she saved my life."

While talking about her ink collection in a December 2019 interview with Capital FM, Gomez revealed that she and Raísa had gotten matching tattoos to commemorate their life-long bond following their surgery. "I actually got the date of when I got my kidney transplant, and I did that with the girl that gave me her kidney," she said.

Things between Raísa and Gomez seemed to go downhill in November 2022. After the "De Una Vez" singer called Taylor Swift her "only friend" in the industry in an interview with Rolling Stone, Raísa seemingly reacted to the quote by calling Gomez's quote "Interesting" on Instagram. According to Buzzfeed, the actor deleted her comment soon after but continued to fuel rumors of a rift by unfollowing Gomez on the platform.

Gomez then appeared to react to Raísa's comment by writing, "Sorry I didn't mention every person I know," underneath a TikTok about her and Raísa's rumored feud.

Five months after the social media drama with Gomez, TMZ asked Raísa whether the two were still friends. Instead of clearing the air, Raísa dodged questions about their relationship by telling the outlet, "Sunday is so fun . . . I'm Francia, I'm hanging out with my dog."

She also refused to explain why she unfollowed Gomez on Instagram by responding with, "Did you know I'm from the Valley?" However, when asked about whether she would be open to organ donation again, Raísa said, "I would definitely speak to someone again about organ donation and the process."

On July 26, Gomez posted a tribute to Raísa on Instagram in honor of the actor's birthday. Sharing three photos of them together, Gomez wrote, "Happiest of birthdays to this special human being. No matter where life takes us, I love you." Raísa liked the post.

It seems Gomez and Raísa's friendship is back on track after the pair was spotted out on two occasions in August. Their first public outing was on Aug. 11 at Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Los Angeles. Both Gomez and Raísa documented the night on their Instagram accounts, with Raísa captioning a photo of their matching shoes, "No beef just salsa." Just days later, TMZ published photos of the duo enjoying a bowling night with friends in Studio City, CA.

While attending Gomez's first Rare Impact Fund Benefit on Oct. 4, Raísa spoke to Extra about how she and Gomez first connected. "When I was on 'Secret Life of the American Teenager'… she was on 'Wizards of Waverly Place.' Disney had the stars of their shows go to Children's Hospital and visit all the kids… She was in my group. She came up to me and was like, 'My mom had a teenage pregnancy, she was 16 years old, and we love your show.' I was like, 'Oh, my God, thank you! I love your show,'" she recalled. "We started talking, we both had boyfriends at the time, we started kiki-ing… Around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up, and her and her boyfriend broke up, she called me and was like, 'I am going through some stuff… I am going through a breakup.' I was like, 'Girl, me, too,' and we were just inseparable after that ever since."

Of how their relationship has evolved over the years, she added, "We trauma-bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky… People grow, relationships change. Obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister… I don't know any relationship that's perfect… When our situation came up… No, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it. I am happy that we are here today, celebrating and supporting each other."