Justin Bieber has now unfollowed Selena Gomez on Instagram. And in these social media times, that’s basically the equivalent of burning an ex’s clothes or taping over their favorite CDs with “Pinky and Perky.”
How massive is the interest in Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’s once-fairytale-romance-now-compelling-cautionary-tale?
Put it this way: At one point, there were Google pages deep of reports on the Biebs’ move. In contrast, there were far less about the recent 60-day deadline issued by an Argentinian judge, demanding that Justin return to Buenos Aires to face a court’s questions about the alleged conduct of his bodyguards, under an added Interpol threat.
Throw in a giggling Kendall Jenner debuting a new shoulder-length haircut in an Instagram video Justin posted shortly after unfollowing Selena on Wednesday, and it was very nearly #BreakTheInternet time.
Fans were the first to notice Justin’s following list of family and pals dropped from 45 to 44 after he unhooked himself from his former sweetheart’s Instagram feed.
Inevitably, the rumor mill has decided Kendall is Ms. Bieber #2, because only lovers drink coffee and tell silly jokes.
However, according to multiple sources and reports , Justin and Kendall have been friends for years. Last Sunday, they and mutual pal Hailey Baldwin attended a service at Hillsong NYC, held by Bieber’s spiritual leader Pastor Carl Lentz .
Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner at hillsong tonight pic.twitter.com/MxFHyLwMY3
— Josh (@Josh3Estrada7) November 10, 2014
In addition, the new face of Estée Lauder supermodel seemed to offer some smart advice to Selena in an Instagram post on Thursday.
She wrote: “Don’t cry over boys. Do some squats and make them cry wishing they still had dat ass.” Seeing as Kendall has been seen with both halves of the former Jelena, it seems she is not taking sides.
Currently, there are a few theories floating as to why Justin decided to unfollow Selena on Instagram this week, rather than when they split up between their Caribbean vacation and Paris Fashion Week trip at the end of September.
One idea, is that the Bieber doesn’t want Gomez’s possible future boyfriends popping up on his feed. A revealing fight between the pair on Instagram last weekend, saw the Biebs post a clear enough message just two days after Selena’s post-video premiere interview with Ryan Seacrest.
It read, “Sometimes love isn’t a feeling but a choice.” His caption? “It’s easy to love when you feel it, but love when it’s hard to love.”
Shortly after, the Disney alum posted a pic of herself with Shiloh Fernandez — the leading man from her “The Heart Wants What It Wants” music video. Selena previously told Ryan that Justin was a “little jealous” of the actor.
But, by far the simplest explanation for Justin’s Instagram unfollow is the intense judgment seen online and elsewhere after Selena dropped “Heart,” which she confirmed to Seacrest is about her ex-beau.
The song tells Selena’s (until now) unheard take on their bittersweet relationship. And it’s a heart slayer.
Apart from being one of the most repeat-listening worthy tracks released all year, with an intro monologue in which the starlet says she was “in pain” and “completely shattered” by “something so stupid;” the overwhelming sadness of the song contrasts devastatingly with the younger happy Jelena that once was , and can still be seen in online video footage and countless pictures.
For anyone who has followed the former couple’s “first love” journey — a pancake date at IHOP in 2010, Justin renting out the Staples Center to watch Titanic alone with Selena in 2011, their infamous “Brangelina 2.0” pic, an ultra romantic holiday in Maui , reunions after their first breakup in 2012 and their touching break in Canada earlier this year — it’s been a roller coaster four years.
Without doubt, Justin and Selena had a true love story as her song revealed. But when all that love flipped, it seems the starlet decided to send a series of riot act signals that she is done.
Showing up at LAX airport with known Bieber-hater Orlando Bloom , her video and candid chat with Seacrest which painted Justin in an unflattering light, it is surely no coincidence that the “Confident” singer decided to cut ties.
Although Selena said the former love of her life thought the song was “beautiful,” the effect of the stark opening to the video and lyrics such as “I’m praying that I’m gonna make it out alive” and “this is a modern fairytale, no happy endings,” basically told the world in a one-sided way that loving Justin eventually took an emotional toll — despite her own repeated choices to reunite.
The “perfect way to end a chapter?” Well, it’s one way to move on.
So, is this a definitive end of the line for Jelena? With the “Heart” video drawing millions of views amid a No. 25 debut on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the last ritual of Justin unfollowing Selena feels like the bridge between them has finally crashed and burned.
[ Image via mtv.com . ]