Selena Gomez on 'Remarkable' Split with The Weeknd and Why She's Reuniting with Justin Bieber

After Selena Gomez quickly rebounded with her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber after splitting from The Weeknd in October, fans and even her loved ones wondered why she was giving the “Sorry” singer another chance — and if there was any drama with the R&B singer.

In a new cover interview with Billboard, the “Wolves” singer, 25, sets the record straight on all the rumors.

“Something that I’m really proud of is that there’s such a true friendship [between me and The Weeknd],” she told the outlet. “I truly have never experienced anything like that in my life. We ended it as best friends, and it was genuinely about encouraging and caring [for each other], and that was pretty remarkable for me.”

Sources previously told PEOPLE the pair’s relationship became difficult because of The Weeknd’s touring schedule and Gomez’s shooting commitments for her upcoming Woody Allen film.

As for reuniting with Bieber, 23 — whom she’s had an on and off relationship with since 2010 — “I’m 25. I’m not 18, or 19, or 20,” she said. “I cherish people who have really impacted my life. So maybe before, it could have been forcing something that wasn’t right. But that doesn’t mean caring for someone ever goes away.”

The star, who is being honored Thursday night as the outlet’s “Woman of the Year,” also got candid about her self-esteem after undergoing a kidney transplant earlier this summer.

“It was really hard in the beginning,” she said about her surgery scar. “I remember looking at myself in the mirror completely naked and thinking about all the things that I used to bitch about and just asking, ‘Why?'”

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The entertainer also reveals there used to be “someone” in her life “who pointed out all the things that I didn’t feel great about with myself,” but she’s since gained a new confidence about her body.

“I just think for me, it could be my eyes, my round face, my ears, my legs, my scar. I don’t have perfect abs, but I feel like I’m wonderfully made,” she said.