Selena Gomez opens up on Kidney Transplant & Justin Bieber as she covers Billboard’s “Woman of the Year” Issue

American sweetheart Selena Gomez is the cover star for Billboard‘s “Woman of the Year” 2017 issue. The singer who recently revealed she had to undergo a kidney transplant as a result of complications from lupus, opens up on how comfortable she feels with her scar, her breakup from The Weeknd and what brought Justin Bieber back into her life.

Read excerpts below:

On how comfortable she feels with her scar:

I do. I didn’t, but I do now. It was really hard in the beginning. I remember looking at myself in the mirror completely naked and thinking about all the things that I used to bitch about and just asking, “Why?” I had someone in my life for a very long time who pointed out all the things that I didn’t feel great about with myself. When I look at my body now, I just see life. There are a million things I can do — lasers and creams and all that stuff — but I’m OK with it. And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with [plastic surgery]. Cardi B has been my inspiration lately. She’s killing it, and she is proud of everything she has done. So there is absolutely zero judgment on my end. I just think for me, it could be my eyes, my round face, my ears, my legs, my scar. I don’t have perfect abs, but I feel like I’m wonderfully made.

On how she feels about the recent increase in women speaking up against their predators:

I feel all those things. I’ve cried. But I definitely feel hopeful. As people speak out, I hope that feels powerful to them, because they deserve to feel that. I’m fortunate enough not to have experienced some of the traumatic things that other women have had to go through. I’ve known people in my family who’ve gone through those things. I try to let people come to me and open up, to make a safe environment for them to do so.

On whether or not she is working on new music:

I am. I mean this in a very loving way, [but] my label has been itching for all the music that I’ve been creating, and there is such power in saying “no”. I like how we’ve presented the music this year, because it wasn’t in an aggressive way; it felt very genuine. I’ve canceled the past two tours I’ve done, so that’s something I’ve considered deeply too. How will I step on that stage and just completely own it and wear it proudly? In the past, I just kept reaching for something: “The costume is not glittery enough. What is going to pull them in? Everybody keeps looking at me like I’m this young girl.”

On what brought Justin Bieber back into her life:

I’m 25. I’m not 18, or 19, or 20. I cherish people who have really impacted my life. So maybe before, it could have been forcing something that wasn’t right. But that doesn’t mean caring for someone ever goes away. And [that goes for] people in general. I mean, I grew up with Demi [Lovato]. Nick and Joe [Jonas] and Miley [Cyrus] — we’ve gone through seasons in our lives. I don’t think it’s as serious as people make things out to be half the time. It’s just my life. I grew up with all of these people, and it’s so cool to see where everybody is. It comes back to the idea of me remaining full. I think a true representation of love is beyond just yourself. It’s me going to get coffee earlier this morning and talking with a woman who was celebrating her birthday and going to Disneyland for the first time. I told her about my favorite things there, and she got excited, and then I got excited because she was excited. The littlest things are impactful.