Selena Gomez sent a shot right to our hearts last year when she revealed she's been battling Lupus—a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body including the skin, joints and even organs—for several years.
She opened up for the first time about her diagnosis in Billboard's Oct. 17, 2015 issue, revealing, "I was diagnosed with lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy. That's what my break was really about. I could've had a stroke," Gomez tells the magazine of her time spent out of the spotlight, which caused a flurry of speculation as to what was keeping her away. "I wanted so badly to say, 'You guys have no idea. I'm in chemotherapy. You're assholes.' I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again."
Though the singer has seen some highs after announcing her diagnosis, including a world tour, she's also seen some lows, struggling to balance her health and work.
In fact, on Tuesday, SelGo announced she will be taking a break from the spotlight once again.
"As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways," the 24-year-old told People. "I've discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges."
She continues, "I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues."
Though it's definitely heartbreaking for concerned fans, the announcement should come as no surprise. Selena has been through a lot since first revealing her struggle with the disease a year ago.
October 2015: A few days after announcing her diagnosis, Selena appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and further explained why she kept it a secret for three years, even when tabloids speculated she was in rehab for some sort of addiction. "I mean that's when I found it," she told host Ellen DeGeneres, "and I think it was just very complicated because I didn't understand and then that was something that I did want to keep private until my whole life suddenly wasn't private."
But when her new album, Revival, was released last October, it finally became the perfect opportunity for her to come clean about everything—hence her revival. "So it was my moment," she explains. "I'm really honestly able to relate to people and I get it."
December 2015: Despite giving the announcement several months to settle, the singer admitted she still wasn't comfortable with the attention that stemmed from it.
"It has been overwhelming and the response has been very supportive, which is nice—but it still makes me a little uncomfortable," Gomez told Billboard's Dec. 12 issue. "I waited for the right time to talk about it because I am in a great place and I'm very healthy. I'm not trying to be loud about it: It was time to use my platform to help."
April 2016: After staying quiet about it (for good reason) for several months, SelGo posed for GQ magazine in spring and opened up about her stay in rehab as well as her health.
"First off, this is something that everyone always wants to fixate on. I got diagnosed with lupus. My mom had a very public miscarriage. So I had to cancel my tour. I needed time to just be okay," she told the publication, adding, "and I was going through leukemia" (she likely meant chemotherapy).
"I went to two different locations for those treatments," she added. "It's really frustrating, because I am 100 percent allowed to have that, but I think people just want to have some sort of—" she said, trailing off.
Overall, she explained how she hopes everything will get better with time. "I just have to be patient. It's slowly dissolving the older I get. And I just have to be patient and make great things with quality, from producing to singing to acting. And one by one, I will be able to change the dialogue and people won't care about everything that's happened to me."
May 2016: SelGo kicked off her Revival World Tour at the end of spring, starting with a May 6 Las Vegas show.
From there, she traveled all around the world, performing from city to city to give packed arenas one of the best concerts of summer.
July 2016: Just a day after she turned 24 on July 22 and soon after performing a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, as part of her Revival tour, the pop singer posted a cryptic message on Instagram that signaled she's been dealing with some turmoil, which may have been an addition to her already stressful time battling Lupus.
"Tonight I felt extremely unauthentic, unconnected to both...myself and my music," she wrote. "I've never really felt like my materials, wardrobe or a video could define me. I act on a moment and fear something that hasn't happened. I'm stagnant, I stay still and don't just sit with myself first and ask, 'Is this where I am, wholeheartedly?' I've always told the truth. I'm always true to my word, I've shown who I am but I need to rethink some areas of my life creatively and personally. Had to get that out."
She added, "Not being negative about anything I've done. I'm grateful for every single moment I get here -Indonesia you were LOUD and clearly inspiring. Love you so much."
The singer will wrap up her Revival World Tour in December, after which she will follow through on taking time to focus on herself and her health. We're wishing our girl all the best(as always).