Selena Gomez's kidney donor Francia Raisa responds to rumor they fell out over kidney donation

Francia Raisa has spoken out on her years-long friendship with Selena Gomez in the wake of reports that they'd fallen out.

How I Met Your Father star Raisa met Gomez in 2008 and the two went on to become best friends.

Fast forward to 2017 and Raisa donated one of her kidney's to her close pal Gomez, which she needed a result of her being diagnosed with lupus three years earlier.

It was believed that the two actors were extremely good friends - I mean, it's not very day you donate an organ to someone - but their relationship was rumored to have become rocky when Gomez hailed Taylor Swift as her 'only real friend in the industry'.

In light of this, the pair are thought to have fallen out, but Raisa has never properly addressed the matter until now.

She chatted to the press while attending The Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit Supporting Youth Mental Health hosted by Gomez on Wednesday (4 October).

She said to Extra TV of her being friends with the 'Come & Get It' hitmaker: "We trauma bonded which is beautiful, but it can also get rocky and tricky, you know?

"People grow, relationships change, but obviously I treat [Gomez] like my little sister. She treats me like her older sister."

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She added that she doesn't know anyone who has a 'perfect' relationship with the people they love, but went on to gush about Gomez' endeavors.

When Gomez, who is four years Raisa's junior, turned 30, the actor said that it allowed the pair to 'get to know each other again'.

"We had to almost go on our own journey and kind of grow," she added.

Elsewhere, Raisa went on to address the rumours that their falling out was to do with her kidney donation - which she insisted wasn't the case.

"It had nothing to do with the kidney," she said.

In another chat with Associated Press, The Secret Life of the American Teenager star continued to remain coy about the real reason the pair had seemingly drifted apart.

"We had our stuff," she said.

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"What happened? I'm very private. That's between us and I'd rather keep it between us."

Raisa added that 'every relationship has its ups and downs'.

Meanwhile, back in August, the 35-year-old also debunked the reports that she was 'forced' to donate her kidney to Gomez.

Speaking on Josh Peck's Good Guys podcast, she said: "I knew I was a match. I knew it was gonna happen.

"No one forced me to do anything.

"It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart.”