Francia Raísa was thrilled to give Selena Gomez‘s new boyfriend, Benny Blanco, her stamp of approval.
“He’s the best. I got to meet him. He’s really wonderful and super funny,” Raísa, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 31, at the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection Concert. “I love them together.”
Raísa noted that Blanco’s sense of style left an impression on her, adding, “When I first met him, he wore a Dora the Explorer jacket. I was like, ‘I like you.’”
Gomez, 31, has been happily showing off her relationship with Blanco, 35, over the past several weeks. She initially surprised fans in December 2023 when she announced that she had been dating Blanco for “six months.”
“He is my absolute everything in my heart,” she wrote in an Instagram comment at the time. “He [has] been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The end. … He’s still better than anyone I’ve been with. Facts.”
The couple collaborated on Gomez’s music before they started dating. Blanco was involved in several of Gomez’s tracks, including “Same Old Love” and “I Can’t Get Enough.” They also worked together on “Single Soon,” which was released in August 2023.
Since going public with Blanco, Gomez has shared plenty of glimpses of their connection. He has also accompanied Gomez to several events, including the Golden Globes last month.
According to a source, Gomez is excited to have Blanco “by her side” from now on.
“She’s proudly introducing him to everyone in her life,” an insider told Us earlier this month. “They kept things low-key [at first], but Benny has passed every test with flying colors. The new year seemed like a perfect time to essentially shout [their love] from the rooftops, so that’s what Selena is doing.”
A second insider said that Gomez’s loved ones were thrilled by Blanco’s presence in her life. “She loves how Benny treats her: he’s so kind and thoughtful. She’s never been with anyone like him,” the second source added. “It’s been a very long time since friends saw Selena this happy. She’s positively glowing.”
In addition to publicly spending time with Blanco, Gomez has also reunited with Raísa after the pals previously drifted apart.
“We’ve never really had beef with each other. Nothing happened, and if you ask either of us, we don’t know what happened, but we needed that time apart,” Raísa, who donated her kidney to Gomez in 2017 amid her lupus battle, told USA Today in December 2023. “Then when you come back together, you’re better people. She and I are still getting to know each other again.”
While speaking with Us on Wednesday, Raísa opened up about how her body subconsciously seemed to prepare itself for the procedure.
“What’s interesting [is that] about three years prior to the donation, out of nowhere my body said, ‘You need to drink a lot more water and you need to drink a lot more. You need to eat a lot more vegetables.’ I didn’t like fish before, and out of nowhere, I was at a restaurant and I was craving fish. I’d never tasted it before. I’d never wanted it,” she recalled. “So I started eating healthier [and] drinking more water. Then three years later, the whole surgery came up.”
Raísa continued: “And when the doctor told me how I had to live my life, I was like, ‘Oh, I just started doing that three years ago.’ So it was almost a sign to me, to be honest with you. It was three years of me just already doing what I’ve been doing.”
With reporting by Travis Cronin
