Selena Gomez Celebrates Friend and Kidney Donor Francia Raisa on Her Birthday

Selena Gomez is wishing a very happy birthday to Francia Raisa. As the How I Met Your Father star celebrated her 35th birthday Wednesday, the “Rare” singer took to Instagram to share a birthday tribute to her friend and kidney donor. Posting a collection of photos of the two throughout the years, Gomez, 31, praised Raisa as a “special human being.”

“Happiest of birthdays to this special human being. No matter where life takes us, I love you. @franciaraisa,” the Only Murders in the Building star wrote alongside a heart. Fans speculated earlier this year that the relationship between Gomez and Raisa had deteriorated since the 2017 kidney transplant after Raisa reacted to comments Gomez made in a Rolling Stone interview calling Taylor Swift her “only friend” in the industry. After the quote made headlines, Raisa commented tellingly, “interesting,” under a post talking about the interview before unfollowing Gomez on Instagram. The Rare Beauty founder later defended herself via TikTok, writing, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”

In addition to liking Gomez’s birthday post, the Secret Life of an American Teenager refollowed the “Come & Get It” singer, and told TMZ when asked about rumors of a feud that there’s “no beef” between her and Gomez. She also shared her own post for her birthday, posting photos of a beachy celebration in which she poses in a bikini in front of a “Happy Birthday” balloon banner. She captioned the post, “If I’m not in a bikini on my birthday then it’s not my birthday.”

In March, Gomez said she would be forever “in debt” to Raisa during an episode of Apple TV+’s documentary series Dear..., even going so far as to call the actress her “best friend.” Gomez reflected on their relationship and having Raisa donate her kidney, saying, “I will never ever, ever, be more in debt to a person than Francia. The idea of someone not even second-guessing to be a donor was unbelievably overwhelming.” She added of her donor experience, “I understand that that doesn’t happen for a lot of people, and I know the outcome of some of those situations and how serious they are, so I do not take it lightly that it’s happened to me that way.”