Selena Gomez ties knot with producer Benny Blanco

US pop star and actress Selena Gomez has married music producer Benny Blanco in a ceremony in California.

Gomez posted pictures to Instagram of her wearing a white halter-neck wedding gown and Blanco in a dark tuxedo, alongside the caption “9.27.26” bookended by love hearts.

According to fashion magazine Vogue, the couple exchanged vows in Santa Barbara on Saturday in front of around 170 guests, including singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, actor Paul Rudd, and Gomez’ Only Murders in the Building co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short.

“My wife in real life,” Blanco commented on his bride’s post.

Gomez, 33, and Blanco, 37, became engaged in December 2024 after a year of dating, having previously collaborated on several music projects together.

The couple released the album I Said I Love You First in March, which explores their own love story.

They previously released the hits Same Old Love and Kill Em with Kindness in 2015, and the 2019 track I Can’t Get Enough featuring Tainy and J Balvin.

Gomez starred in the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place before beginning her music career in the 2000s, and has had five UK top 10 singles and two UK top 10 singles. She recently starred in the film Emilia Perez as Jessica Del Monte.

Blanco released his only solo studio album Friends Keep Secrets in 2018, and has produced records for the likes of Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Kesha.

Meanwhile, Nigerian celebrity chef and double Guinness World Record breaker Hilda Baci makes no secret about what drives her success.

“[It’s] my love for money and the good things in life,” the 30-year-old says unabashedly, laughing on a call from Lagos.

There is nothing bashful about Baci, who has changed the spelling of her last name from the original Bassey. She clearly thrives in the limelight and embraces the glamour that comes with being her country’s most celebrated foody.

But there are really two Hilda Bacis. She admits that there is Hilda Baci the person, which is what her family and partner see, and then there is Hilda Baci the brand, whose image is carefully curated.

“I’m a businesswoman first, which means that whatever I’m doing, it is important that my business comes first,” she says.

Under the My Food by Hilda name, which has more than a million followers on Instagram – along with the 3.2 million on her personal account – she runs a well-known restaurant in Lagos, as well as offering cookery classes and a private chef service.

“It feels good to be an inspiration,” she says, “but it comes with a little bit of pressure because a lot of people now look to me for guidance and answers… I don’t allow that to overwhelm me and lose focus on what I’m trying to achieve.”

The cooking influencer, who was born in Calabar in the south but at five moved to the capital, Abuja, with her mother, older brother, and younger sister, got a taste of standing out at an early age.

Baci’s mother ran an eatery opposite the Ministry of Defence in Abuja, and she remembers that after a day at primary school, she would go there to help out.

“I always got so many tips because I used to memorise the whole menu and I was very sharp-mouthed. So I would shout out: ‘Oh, what do you guys want to have? We have fufu, garri, semo,'” she says, mimicking a child’s voice as she lists her country’s staple foods.

Source: BBC News