Hailey Bieber responds to claims she 'stole' Justin Bieber from Selena Gomez

Hailey Bieber has finally addressed the online hate she has received from Selena Gomez fans for her relationship with Justin Bieber.

Hailey has previously spoken out to call on 'miserable' followers to 'leave [her] alone,' but she has never directly addressed the hate she has received from many so-called Selenators since she and Justin started going out.

Despite Justin and Selena's relationship having ended back in 2018, many fans of the pair's relationship have continued to root for them, with some accusing Hailey of having 'stolen' the Baby singer from Selena.

For the first time, Hailey has opened up about the effect of the 'public-generated controversy between her and her husband's ex'.

In an episode of Alex Cooper's podcast, 'Call Her Daddy' - released today, 28 September - Hailey reflected on how it was 'crazy' to be talking about Selena and Justin because she's 'literally never talked about this ever'.

When questioned as to whether she was in a relationship with Justin before his relationship with Selena ended, Hailey adamantly replied: "No, not one time."

She continued: "When him and I ever started hooking up, or anything of that sort, he was not ever in any relationship, ever at any point. It's not my character to mess with someone's relationship, I would just never do that, I was raised better than that."

Hailey and Justin first got together in 2016. However, they didn't get back together until after the singer and Selena had split, later on in 2018, according to Hailey. In July 2018, Hailey and Justin got engaged and they married two months later in New York.

Despite confirming she didn't hook up with Justin until after he and Selena had split, the model noted she 'understand[s] how it looks from the outside'.

"But that was a situation where I know for a fact that it was the right thing for them [Justin and Selena] to close that door. They were not in a relationship at that time, but of course, there's a very long history there and it's not my relationship, it has nothing to do with me, and I respect that a lot.

"But I know it closed a chapter, and it was the best thing that could've happened for him to move on, to be engaged and get married and move on with his life in that way," she said.

However, Hailey also noted, she doesn't 'want to talk on either one of their behalf's,' and stated again how much she respects Justin and Selena's past relationship.

In response to the hate she has faced from fans of Selena and Justin's relationship, Hailey reflected: "A lot of the hate and perpetuation comes from, 'Oh, you stole him,' and I guess maybe that just comes from they wish he had ended up with someone else.

"And that's fine. You can wish that all you want. But that's not the case."

Hailey opened up about the hateful comments she got on one particular Instagram live, explaining she's developed a 'certain numbness' because she just 'know[s] it's going to happen' and it's 'going to happen to this day'.

However, she resolved: "If we have moved on, why can't you? It's just hurtful and it's bullying."

Hailey's earlier comments in the interview ultimately summarise hers and Justin's situation: "The only people who really know the truth of the situation and what the timeline really was and how it happened and how it went down are me and him.

"Perception is a really tricky thing, because when you're watching something from the outside you can see it one way when it may not really be the reality of what happened behind closed doors.

"I know how we got to where we got, period. I was there and I was living it every day."

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