Madison McGaw/BFAnyc/Sipa USAMeet Mirtha Michelle.
The 30-year-old actress and author recently released her very first book, titled Letters, to the Men I Have Loved. In the book, Michelle, who's actually BFFs with Selena Gomez, writes about all the men who have influenced her life, from family members to exes who taught her a lot about healthy—and unhealthy—relationships.
We recently chatted with Michelle about her book, her pal Selena and some life lessons she's learned about love and life. Here are her top tips and revelations.
On Giving Relationship Advice to One of Her Biggest Fans, Selena Gomez: "Selena is actually a friend of mine, so she's a very sweet girl. Although she is younger than me, she's 21...it's so funny because when I met her, I don't really watch TV and I know anything that's happening, when I met her I thought she was older. I thought she was two years older than she was. She's so mature for her age. She'll be trying to give me advice. I'm live, ‘Hold up, I wrote a book!'"
On the Purpose of Her New Book: "I'm not trying to tell anyone how to live their life...I share my mistakes and hopefully people can learn from it. I do have this desire in my heart to see people be better. I feel like that's sort of my overall purpose in life. Whether it's a girl who has low self-esteem. Sometimes girls enter really bad relationships and it affects them to the point that they don't see themselves as valuable. I express it's good to forgive, it's good to let it go."
On Being Honest With Friends When It Comes to Relationships: "I am very honest. I tell them how it is. ‘Hey, maybe he's not that into you!' Because someone needs to tell them that. Sometimes we talk to our friends and our friends just cover up the sun with a finger. You can't so that. You have to say the truth, you have to be honest. ‘Hey, he's still seeing his ex girlfriend? Is that what you want in your life? No, you don't.'"
On Loving Yourself Before Others: "When you grow and you take the time to develop a relationship with yourself, you become so strong that you will not allow certain things in your life. And I think that's the overall purpose of the book, to inspire people, to dedicate time to get to know themselves."