Here's Why Selena Gomez & Justin Bieber Spent The Thanksgiving Holiday Apart
Ah, Thanksgiving. It's a time to be surrounded by the ones you love, show your thanks and gratitude for everything you have in life, and viciously shovel pounds of delicious food into your mouth as fast as humanly possible. A true day of thanks. So, when we think of all the famous people we follow on social media, we expect to see a few things: turkey is, of course, a given, but we also get to glimpse into the world of celebrities living their normal, everyday lives with family and friends. We double-tap the Kardashian's Thanksgiving spread, we smile at Chrissy Teigen and baby Luna, we see Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez finally together after being apart so long — wait, I'm sorry, what? Jelena weren't together on Thanksgiving, after the world has waited for these two to reunite for so long? How dare they? You know, if I'm being honest, there are some pretty solid reasons as to why Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber celebrated Thanksgiving separately, and I think that keeping things low-key for the both of them is high on their list of priorities, since easing yourself back into an on-again, off-again relationship can sometimes face just a little bit of backlash.
According to E! News, a source told the outlet that the couple simply wanted to spend some time apart to be with family:
They both spent Thanksgiving with their families. Justin went to Canada and Selena was in Texas. They are still doing really well together, but they agreed it was best for them to be with their families for the holiday.
Let's take a closer look at why Jelena decided to each do their own thing for the holiday — and no, don't worry, there's no indication that things between them are rocky, so you can all rest easy.
Selena was spending quality time with her family.
Look, I'm not saying that Selena's family doesn't like Bieber... but we can't really assume that they do like him, either. I mean, what kind of family enjoys seeing a relative in a tumultuous relationship? Aside from maybe Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick, I really don't know many families that are totally chill with your ex becoming your boyfriend over and over again, like some awful form of relationship Groundhog's Day.
Scott, Scott, Scott. What are the Kardashians going to do with you?
So, when Selena went back home to Texas for Thanksgiving, it makes sense that she didn't bring Justin with her. They're clearly back in a phase that's very new after spending time apart from each other, and this holiday is about being with family, not taking selfies with your man on the couch while you fight off cousins who want to play Scrabble with you (just me?).
According to E! News, a source mentions that Selena felt it was "too soon" to bring Justin back:
Selena felt it was too soon for Justin to come to Texas with her. Her family is still getting comfortable with the idea of them back together. Justin says he hopes he can spend Christmas with her but knows that it will take a very long time for her family to accept him back in.
It's obvious that Selena is a family-oriented person, and she was treating her time home as such. In an Instagram post from Selena's aunt, Laveda Gage, you can see that her family was happy to spend some alone time with her.
And, in classic aunt form, the photo above shows that two-thirds of the people posing for the camera are blinking, proving it doesn't matter how rich or famous you are, you will always have that one relative who shamelessly posts unflattering photos of you.
Justin was reportedly surprising a local Canadian hockey team.
While Justin wasn't exactly celebrating with his family, he was back home in his native Canada, doing what Canadians love most: playing hockey. According to TMZ, a source said that Bieber asked the Whistler 'A1' Winterhawks hockey team coach if he could join the practice as a surprise for the players.
The Whistler Minor Hockey Association expressed its gratitude on Facebook:
Fun practice for Midget A1 last night when Justin Bieber showed up to join their scrimmage. Thanks for coming for a skate with the Winterhawks, you are welcome back anytime!
For those of you who are thinking that's really nice, but wondering why Bieber wasn't with his family, spoiler alert: Canadian Thanksgiving is actually in early October, so he technically didn't miss the holiday.
Does this mean that come next October, Selena will be Canada-bound with Justin for the holiday? Only time can tell. In the meantime, though, let's all get out our popcorn and see where the couple ends up for Christmas.
