When she first catapulted to fame and cemented herself as a teen idol, Selena Gomez was surrounded by fellow Disney stars on red carpets.

On and off set, Selena was often seen with Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato  and even Kylie and Kendall Jenner.

The Lose You to Love Me singer, who catapulted to global fame as Alex Russo on the Disney sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place after getting her first role in Barney aged ten, has spent much of her life in front of the camera.

But in 2014, she suddenly stepped out of the spotlight.

Gone were her days of partying – and dating Justin Bieber.

It would later be revealed that Gomez, now 32, was privately battling lupus after she was diagnosed with the autoimmunde disorder sometime between 2012 and 2014. and checked herself into a rehab facility in Arizona, US.

‘That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,’ she told Billboard in 2015.

One year after her comeback, and amid her Revival World Tour, Gomez sought treatment for anxiety and depression at a facility in Tennessee, US, in August 2016.

She explained that the mental health conditions ‘can be side effects of lupus which can present their own challenges’ in a statement, before cancelling the rest of her tour dates.

Selena largely kept a low profile in the following years, but saw herself broadcast into homes across the world again when she was cast in Only Murders in the Building with Martin Short and Steve Martin in 2021.

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Only Murders in the Building stars Selena Gomez, Martin Short (left) and Steve Martin have become ‘best friends’ over the course of filming the Hulu comedy series

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Selena is pictured with Miley Cyrus (centre) with Demi Lovato (left) during the 2008 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheater

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Over time, Gomez has turned Martin and Short’s two-man comedy act into a three-person dream team

When Only Murders in the Building was first announced, fans were sceptical about the show’s casting.

Both Martin and Short are in their 70s whereas Gomez wasn’t even thirty yet.

Since appearing together in the Eighties film Three Amigos, Martin and Short’s four decades-long partnership has seen the actors join forces for movies like Father of the Bride, joint stand-up tours, and and even a Netflix special.

So, how would the former Disney star and Nineties baby fit in to septuagenarians’ famous two-man show?

Like the puzzle piece no one realised was missing until the show premiered in 2021, when their crackling chemistry as three true-crime podcasters made Only Murders in the Building a runaway success.

Three years and four seasons later, the trio’s on-screen camaraderie has blossomed into an unlikely friendship – one that Gomez’s fans say became instrumental to her recovery after years of battling serious health challenges.

Before Only Murders, Selena underwent a kidney transplant and submitted to various voluntary programs to manage her mental health – until an episode of psychosis in 2018 led to her being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and started on heavy medication.

‘There was no part of me that was there anymore,’ Gomez told Rolling Stone in a candid interview about struggling with suicidal thoughts, paranoia, and fear after the breakdown.

Just before the show was released, Gomez reflected on the hardships she encountered over the years, telling ELLE ‘these were all things that honestly should have taken me down’.

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Viewers have been equally delighted by their off-screen appearances as their chemistry on OMITB, about a trio of true-crime podcasters who team up to solve a murder in their New York city apartment

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Fans called for Martin, Short, and Gomez to host the Oscars together after they presented the first award of the night at the 76th Primetime Emmy awards last month

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The Pink Panther star, Martin can be seen filming OMITB with his co-star Gomez

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The 35-year-old actress donated one of her kidneys to her best friend Gomez, 31, back in 2017, though their once-bright friendship ultimately devolved over the years

‘Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?’

Less than two weeks after the interview ran, Only Murders in the Building premiered to widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, catapulting Gomez firmly back into the global spotlight.

Gomez also picked up her first Emmy nomination on the back off her performance as Mabel Mora in OMITB, with the actress earning a nod in the ‘Best Actres in a Comedy Series’ this year.

More importantly, it brought Martin and ‘Marty’ – who celebrated her nomination by sending her flowers – into her life and marked the beginning of what she would later describe as her ‘best’ era yet.

Recalling her first meeting with the comedy duo, who she has since described as her ‘two crazy uncles’ on the set of season one, Gomez told The Wrap she was worried she’d be ‘a little lonely’ but her co-stars made her feel included from the get-go.

She said: ‘They asked questions about my character and they valued my opinion.

‘Eventually they kind of just took me under their wing and picked on me and made me laugh and had words of wisdom when I needed them.

‘All of the fear of me feeling like I would be alone went away, and now they’re my guys. I was just watching videos of them and I got emotional because I’m like, ‘Those are my guys.’

‘Some of my best friends are 70-year-olds.’

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Gomez opened up about her mental health challenges in the 2022 documentary ‘My Mind and Me’

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When she appeared at the 76th Emmy awards last month, she was riding high off the success of her performance as Mabel in OMIYB

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Gomez has previously said ‘some of my best friends are 70-year-olds

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Martin raved about Gomez’s performance as Mabel on OMITB, comparing her to stars like Meryl Streep (who is also part of the cast), and Elizabeth Taylor

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No longer a two-man act, Martin and Short are now firmly part of a three-person dream team with Gomez, ever on hand for her with words of affirmation, congratulatory bouquets, and a steady stream of wisecracks, clapbacks, and quips

Perhaps nothing highlights how significant this friendship has been for the Emilia Perez star better than a fan-edited video of Gomez at two different points in her life.

It opens with a short clip of Gomez tripping while walking the red carpet at the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) awards in 2022, before before transitioning to her appearance at the 76th Emmy awards alongside Short and Martin last month.

As they walked onstage to present the night’s first award, Short could be seen reassuring Gomez after she confessed she felt unsteady on her feet.

‘I feel like I’m about to fall,’ the 32-year-old actress whispered to Short, 74.

Without missing a beat, he wrapped his arm around her and replied: ‘I got you baby.’

The clip went viral on X, with one person writing: ‘This video is so cute. Steve Martin and Martin Short are the best thing that happened to Selena Gomez in a while.’

Since they first teamed up for OMITB, its endearing lead cast has been spotted together everywhere from red carpets and magazine photo shoots, to the sets of Saturday Night Live!.

No longer a two-man act, Martin and Short are now firmly part of a three-person dream team with Gomez, ever on hand for her with words of affirmation, congratulatory bouquets, and a steady stream of wisecracks, clapbacks, and quips.

Their influence on Gomez’s life over the past few years has been so great that, when she celebrated her 32nd birthday earlier this year, the singer credited Martin and Short for ushering in her ‘best’ era yet.

‘I am so grateful that I have been surrounded by human beings that make me better, challenge me, remind me day after day that every moment is a gift.

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Short, Gomez, and Martin photographed while filming  a scene from OMITB

‘That’s my pure joy. I thank god for the era I’m in. It’s been the best yet.’

While filming season four of Only Murders in the Building, Gomez paid tribute to Martin and Short, crediting them as the ‘most kind, gentle, warm, and powerful influences in my life’ in a heartfelt note.

‘You have shown me a level of class, intellect and humor that doesn’t seem to be easy to find anymore,’ she continued. ‘You guys are truly best friends to me forever.’

Her comments are a fary cry from an earlier interview, when Gomez admitted to feeling lonely in Hollywood.

She told Rolling Stone magazine: ‘I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities.

Two years later, the Texas-native told Numero she feels ‘safe and protected’ around her co-stars, adding: ‘I just enjoy their company. Even when I’m on set, sitting, waiting around for something to happen and they’re playing a game, I find some comfort in that.’

Co-creator John Hoffman previously revealed how the cast’s on-screen relationship ‘mirrored what was happening off-stage too’.

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Selena previously hung out with Disney stars

He told Variety: ‘I felt that was authentic to the plan for the story that we were telling, but also mirrored very sweetly, this sort of growing trust that was happening between the three of them.’

In a sign of this trust, Gomez took a big step forward and introduced her boyfriend, record producer Benny Blanco, to everyone’s favourite uncles at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024.

A source told TMZ that Martin and Short are ‘like father figures to Gomez’ and her decision to introduce them to Blanco felt like a big step forward in their romance.

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Martin raved about Gomez’s performance as Mabel on OMITB, comparing her to stars like Meryl Streep (who is also part of the cast), and Elizabeth Taylor.

He also touched on their age-gap friendhship, adding: ‘It’s amazing that people 40 years apart in age can be friends, but I don’t think [age] even comes into our conversations.

‘We’re just three people who really dig each other.’