Justin Bieber has shared a series of cryptic posts which fans think take aim at his ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, who recently got engaged to Benny Blanco.

Bieber and Gomez famously dated for eight years and were on-and-off childhood sweethearts before breaking up for good in 2018. Two months after their split, Bieber got engaged to his current wife Hailey Bieber, with whom he now shares a seven-month-old son.

As such, fans of Gomez and the Biebers have long been at war online, even when the parties involved have publicly confirmed that a rivalry doesn’t exist in real life. Gomez is very much built into the lore of Justin and Hailey’s relationship; despite the fact she has also moved on with someone else.

However, at the start of April, Justin shared a meme of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings ogling at a ring on his Instagram story with the caption, ‘girls on social media when they get engaged.’ Of course, it didn’t take long for social media users to draw comparisons between his post and the one Gomez shared to break the news of her engagement to Blanco. One Reddit user wrote, ‘This is the first time I’ve seen a post of his and thought “oh that actually could be about Selena”. Normally I assume it is fans reaching but this feels pointed.’

Another user wrote, ‘Ok this is weird. He needs to get off social media… Why is he shading his ex at his grown age?’ While a third commented, ‘It has to be about Selena. I literally can’t think of anyone else he would be talking about.’ Someone else pointed out, ‘Even if it’s not about Selena, he had to know that’s where people’s minds would go when he posted this.’

It’s true that Gomez and Blanco have not been shy about their romance online – nor should they be. The pair started dating in 2023 and got engaged in December last year. Aside from their obvious chemistry and adoration of each other, their relationship has garnered attention recently because of the release of their joint album, I Said I Love You First, and their shared inteview with Jay Shetty where Blanco spoke lovingly about the emotional connection they’ve developed.

Fans think Gomez references Justin in several tracks on her new album, including ‘How Does It Feel To Be Forgotten’, ‘Younger and Hotter Than Me’ and ‘You Said You Were Sorry’. However, speaking on Spotify’s Countdown To… Gomez explained, ‘I would like to say most of this album has nothing to do with what everyone may go to. And I think it’s important for me to say that because I’ve evolved so much, and I have experienced life with new people.

‘I’ve had a whole new life so it’s up for whatever people want [to interpret the songs as], but to me it was about both of our pasts and our history [meaning Blanco] and also just inspired by friends and relationships, like some songs were actually meant [to be] about friendships in my life and I think that’s what to me the album was about, and I just wanted to get that out there because that was really important to me.’

Even so, Justin’s recent post has been described as a ‘thinly veiled response’ to their relationship. He faced a similar reaction when he shared a video of Doja Cat shouting, ‘You b*tch! How dare you. Oh my god,’ with the caption, ‘Me acting psycho daily when I’m just a sweet cute innocent girlie who crashes out sometimes.’ This prompted one X user to write, Justin ‘confirmed on his Instagram story that he indeed crash out about Selena Gomez’s engagement.’ Another wrote, ‘I see why Hailey is obsessed. Her man is still thinking of his ex.’

Others have taken Justin’s cryptic posts as a sign that his marriage with Hailey is in a bad place. Two months ago, Justin appeared to unfollow his wife on Instagram – something social media sleuths were quick to pick up on. He responded by saying, ‘Someone went on my account and unfollowed my wife. S*** is getting suss out here.’ A month later, he captioned a selfie: ‘I got anger issues too, but I wanna grow up and not react so much smh.’ The following week, Hailey appeared to unfollow Justin, but quickly cleared up that it was a glitch after Justin briefly deactivated his account. Commenting on a viral TikTok that dove into the whole saga, Hailey wrote, ‘It’s a glitch. Didn’t unfollow him. Hope this helps!’.

A source recently told People that the married couple are ‘doing their thing’, despite what anyone might think. In fact, ‘they are not concerned what people think.’

Other reports have contained allegations that Justin’s recent behaviour is due to drug use, something his reps have strongly denied. Justin has been open about battling drug addiction in the past, announcing his commitment to sobriety in 2014. ‘The recurring narrative that Justin is using hard drugs is absolutely not true,’ they told TMZ. Adding that the singer is ‘in one of the best places in his life’ and that he is ‘actively parenting his newborn son’ and working on new music.

As for Gomez, hopefully she is too wrapped up in her engagement bubble to take notice of the fan theories doing the rounds on social media. One day everyone will surely move on from this love triangle, but we won’t hold our breath…