LOS ANGELES, Oct 7, (Agencies): Francia Raisa, who famously donated a kidney to her friend Selena Gomez in 2017, showed her support for Selena at the inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles on October 4. During the event, Francia addressed their brief falling out as friends in 2022 and clarified that her kidney donation had nothing to do with the rift. The 35-year-old actress spoke to Extra about their renewed friendship.

"Sometimes, I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow individually and then come back together," Francia explained. "We had to almost kind of go on our own journey and grow. I am very happy in my career, and I don’t know if I would be able to do that if I didn’t really take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me because I wasn’t okay."

She emphasized, "I’m okay now," and added, "Just for the record, it had nothing to do with the kidney. I went through a lot in my childhood, and I will be talking about it very soon about exactly what happened. Like I said, she’s [Selena] been such a huge support through all of that and such a cheerleader for me through all of that. Just her stuff is a lot more public than mine."

Selena and Francia have been friends for a while, but in 2022, they seemed to have a falling out. The disagreement arose from Selena's November 2022 Rolling Stone interview, where she declared Taylor Swift as her "only friend" in Hollywood. Francia appeared to take issue with this statement and commented, "Interesting," on an Instagram post related to Selena's remarks. Although she quickly deleted the comment, she unfollowed Selena on the social media site. In response, Selena made a dig at Francia in the comments section of a TikTok post about the drama.

Speaking to Extra, Francia explained the dynamics of their friendship. She mentioned that they "trauma bonded" when they became friends, which was beautiful but could also lead to rocky moments. She acknowledged that people grow, and relationships change, adding, "But obviously, I treat her like my little sister, she treats me like her older sister. I don’t know any relationship that’s perfect. They all go through things."

Regarding their past issues, Francia stated, "When our situation came up, and everything, no, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it. I am happy that we are here today, celebrating and supporting each other." She also noted that she's a different person now than when the problems with Selena arose. "Even when Selena turned 30, I’m like, ‘It’s different, isn’t it?’ and she was like, ‘Yeah,’ " Francia recalled. "I said, ‘Welcome to your 30s. Now we can get to know each other again.’"

Francia had previously addressed rumors of a feud with Selena on Josh Peck’s Good Guys podcast in August, emphasizing that there was no beef between them. She also expressed how challenging it had been to see false headlines about their friendship.

Selena, on her part, demonstrated her amicable relationship with Francia when she sent her love on her 35th birthday in July. Sharing several photos of the pair, Selena wrote, "Happiest of birthdays to this special human being. No matter where life takes us, I love you." Francia "liked" the post on Instagram and followed Selena back on the app, signaling their reconciliation.