Entertainment

Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato Reunite After Nearly a Decade

By Erica Coleman · April 14, 2026

Nobody had this on their 2026 bingo card.

Selena Gomez showed up Monday night for the opening show of Demi Lovato’s It’s Not That Deep Tour at the Kia Center in Orlando — and according to TMZ, it marked the first time the two former Disney stars have connected in person in nearly a decade. Witnesses told TMZ the reunion started backstage before the concert, with the pair sharing what was described as a sweet, personal moment before Gomez took her seat in the balcony.

She didn’t stay quiet about it afterward. Gomez posted to her Instagram Stories throughout the night — a black-and-white photo of Lovato onstage, a shot of the two hugging backstage with a red heart emoji, and a gushing caption: “I am in tears. This was hands down one of the best shows. Oh and the VOCALS? Psh — blown away.”

The history between them makes this feel like more than a celebrity sighting.

Gomez and Lovato first met as young children on the set of Barney & Friends. They grew up together through the Disney Channel era — Gomez on Wizards of Waverly Place, Lovato on Sonny with a Chance — before gradually drifting apart around 2014. They unfollowed each other on social media. Lovato said publicly that “people change and people grow apart.” In 2020, she said they weren’t friends, though she’d “always have love for her.”

The thaw started earlier this year. Lovato told Keke Palmer she felt “grateful” for the friendship she continues to have with Gomez. Gomez appeared at the Golden Globes and made a brief appearance during a Hannah Montana reunion moment alongside Miley Cyrus. And Lovato’s pre-show playlist Monday night included Gomez’s song “Bluest Flame” — widely seen as a deliberate, affectionate gesture.

The night had another reunion built in. Joe Jonas attended the concert and joined Lovato onstage to perform their Camp Rock duet “This Is Me,” sending the crowd into what one reporter described as high-pitched screams of joy.

It’s Not That Deep is Lovato’s first U.S. arena tour in eight years. The tour continues across North America through the summer.

What’s unresolved is what this reunion means going forward — whether it’s a one-night show of support or the beginning of something more visible. But for a fanbase that grew up watching both of them become stars, Monday night in Orlando felt like something real.