Justin Bieber Still Has ‘Major Hold’ On Selena Gomez: ‘If He Texts Her, Her World Stops’

Justin Bieber, pop prince, and Selena Gomez, pop princess, thrilled fans for years when they reigned as the perfect couple. And even after they broke up, hints that they would reunite excited their followers. But now, following a brutal battle on Instagram, they seem to have gone separate ways. The latest reports reveal that even as Justin focuses on his new gal pal Sofia Richie, Selena still has serious feelings about her former boyfriend.

But Gomez, who revealed that her ongoing struggle with lupus caused her to take time off, has heard nothing from Bieber, an insider told Hollywood Life.

Immersed in his romance with Sofia, Justin reportedly isn’t reaching out to Selena because he’s busy with his own love life and career.

“He hasn’t reached out to her because he is doing his own thing and his own tour,” clarified the source.

“[Justin] isn’t spending his time worrying about [Selena].”

Moreover, the insider revealed that Bieber is “really loving his relationship with Sofia.” That resulted in a prediction that as long as he is involved with Richie, Justin will stay focused primarily on his new gal pal.

As for reasons other than Richie that Bieber seemingly is ignoring Gomez, their infamous war of words on Instagram didn’t help anything. That leaves the possibility that Justin will eventually reach out again to Selena, particularly after her announcement that her battle with lupus includes side effects such as “anxiety, panic attacks and depression.”

But are there wounds to be healed from that social media battle, even though Gomez reportedly attempted to apologize? The Daily Mail noted that Selena attempted to retract the shade she threw at Justin and his behavior in defending Sofia from his Beliebers, but that apology might be too little, too late.

“What I said was selfish and pointless,” Gomez posted on social media after dissing her ex.

But her apology was not reciprocated. The 24-year-old “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” singer had slammed the 22-year-old “Sorry” singer for threatening to exit Instagram because some of his followers were critical of Sofia, who just turned 18. But that threat came with an important message from Bieber, in which he emphasized his feeling that true fans would not be cruel to those for whom he cares.

“I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate,” he warned before following through with his threat.

“If you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like.”

Selena’s response, following months of social media silence between the two, shocked everyone.

“If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol,” scolded Gomez. “It should be special between you two only. Don’t be mad at your fans. They love you.”

That’s when the word war took off, with each accusing the other of cheating. Bieber even hinted that Selena had been involved with former One Direction star Zayn Malik, and also claimed that she had “used” him to get attention.

“It’s funny to see people that used me for attention and still trying to point the finger this way.”

Justin continued his post to focus on his concern about the haters who had attacked his relationship with Richie.

“I’m not one for anyone receiving hate,” he added.

With all that history behind them, will Bieber ever forgive Gomez, and does she really still have feelings for him? An insider told Page Six that Selena continues to love Justin, and the feelings are reciprocated.

“[Justin] was her first love, and he still has a major hold on [Selena]. If he texts her, her world stops.”

And despite those harsh words in their social media battle, an insider from Team Bieber told Page Six that the pop prince also has not lost his feelings for Gomez.

“They came up in this business together as sweethearts — those feelings will never go away,” predicted the source.

Moreover, an insider told People that Selena may have been motivated to throw shade at Justin on social media specifically because of her feelings about him.

“He was Selena’s first love, and she hasn’t been able to totally get over him,” emphasized the source.

But as for Bieber’s allegation that Gomez “used” him to get attention, an insider close to Selena revealed that is not true.

“They’re both young and have made mistakes, but [Selena] has never used [Justin].”

Instead, this insider claims that the reverse is true, describing Bieber as drawing attention to their romance much more than Gomez ever did, and even plotting his strategy.

“He put their relationship out there way more than she ever did, and he’s been very strategic about it. Whenever something good is happening in her life, he’ll post something to get at her,” added the source.

[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]