You’ve probably seen the headlines. Maybe you caught a glimpse of Mandy Teefey on a red carpet or saw a blurry Instagram photo of Ricardo Joel Gomez and wondered how they fit into the mega-fame of their daughter. When we talk about selena mom and dad, we aren't just talking about two people who raised a Disney star. We are talking about a story of teen parenthood, $5 gas money struggles, and the brutal reality of what happens when a child becomes the family's primary breadwinner.
Honestly, it wasn’t some glitzy Hollywood beginning. It was Grand Prairie, Texas. 1992.
Mandy was only 16 when she had Selena. Ricardo (Rick) was roughly 20. Think about that for a second. While most of us were worrying about prom or algebra, they were trying to navigate a newborn in a neighborhood Mandy later described as being "rough" and filled with gangs. They didn't have a roadmap. They barely had a car that worked.
The Breakdown of the Texas Dream
By the time Selena was five, the marriage was over. Divorce is hard on any kid, but for Selena, it sparked a deep-seated anger. She’s been open about blaming her mom for the split. She wanted the "perfect" family. She wanted her selena mom and dad under one roof.
Mandy, meanwhile, was working three jobs just to keep the lights on. There’s this famous story Selena tells about searching for quarters just to put gas in the car to get to auditions. They would walk to the local dollar store for spaghetti. It wasn't "starving artist" chic; it was just survival. Mandy was an aspiring stage actress herself, and she’d take Selena to rehearsals because she couldn’t afford a sitter. That’s where the spark happened. Selena didn’t just find her career; she found a way out for both of them.
Rick Gomez: The Low-Profile Father
While Mandy became a fixture in Selena's professional life, Ricardo Joel Gomez took a different path. He didn't want the "industry life." He stayed largely out of the cameras, which led to years of rumors that they were estranged.
They weren't, really. They just had a different vibe.
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Rick eventually remarried a woman named Sara, and Selena has a half-sister through them named Victoria (Tori). If you look at Rick’s Instagram today, it’s basically a digital scrapbook of a proud dad. He posts about her "Only Murders in the Building" success and her Rare Beauty wins. But he’s not the one in the boardroom. He’s the guy who used to take her to Hooters as a kid—not because it was appropriate, but because they liked the wings and it was "their thing." It’s that sort of normal, slightly messy parental relationship that keeps someone grounded when they’re worth nearly a billion dollars.
What Really Happened When She Fired Her Selena Mom and Dad?
This is the H2 everyone searches for. In 2014, the news hit like a freight train: Selena fired Mandy and her stepfather, Brian Teefey, as her managers.
People assumed there was some massive, screaming blowout. The truth is more nuanced and, frankly, a bit sadder. Mandy and Brian had managed her since her "Wizards of Waverly Place" days. But as Selena hit her 20s, the line between "Mom" and "Manager" had completely vanished.
"We lost family time," Mandy later admitted. "The only time we saw her, we talked business."
Imagine every dinner, every holiday, and every "How are you doing?" being filtered through contract negotiations and tour schedules. Selena wanted a professional team that didn't share her DNA. She needed to be an adult. Mandy found out through TMZ that the decision was final. That’s got to sting.
The Brian Teefey Factor
We can't talk about the parental dynamic without mentioning Brian. He married Mandy in 2006. For a huge chunk of Selena's life, he was the "dad" on the ground. He was the one shielding her from paparazzi and managing the day-to-day chaos of a teen idol.
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Even after the "firing," the bond didn't just evaporate. When Selena needed a kidney transplant in 2017, Brian was the one giving interviews, emotional and raw, talking about the "ultimate sacrifice" her friend Francia Raisa made. He called himself "Selena's father" in those moments. It's a reminder that family isn't always about blood; it's about who shows up in the hospital waiting room at 3:00 AM.
Wondermind and the Recent Friction
Fast forward to the 2020s. Things got complicated again. Selena and Mandy co-founded Wondermind, a mental health startup. It was supposed to be their big "full circle" moment.
But reports in late 2024 and 2025 suggested the business was struggling. Some former employees claimed the relationship between the two was strained, with some even suggesting that the company was a way for them to stay "in each other's orbit" without having to actually sit across from one another. In the 2022 documentary My Mind & Me, Mandy admitted she found out about one of Selena’s mental health crises through the media.
That’s the heartbreak of extreme fame. Sometimes, even your own mother is the last to know because the walls you build to protect yourself end up keeping the right people out, too.
A New Chapter: The Benny Blanco Wedding
Despite the years of "up and down" headlines, 2025 brought a massive moment of reconciliation. When Selena married Benny Blanco in September 2025, both her biological parents were there.
- Mandy Teefey was present, later shutting down internet trolls who claimed she was "snubbed" from walking Selena down the aisle.
- Rick Gomez was on the guest list, maintaining his quiet, supportive presence.
- Brian Teefey and her little sister Gracie were front and center.
It seems Selena has reached a point where she can appreciate selena mom and dad for who they are: human beings who were kids themselves when they had her. She recently told Saoirse Ronan in a Variety interview that her childhood felt "very Gilmore Girls." It was fast, it was messy, and they grew up together.
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Insights for the Rest of Us
What can we actually take away from the saga of Mandy, Rick, and Selena?
First, boundaries aren't betrayal. Firing her parents was the healthiest thing Selena could have done for her long-term relationship with them. It allowed them to eventually be just parents again, rather than business partners.
Second, forgiveness is a process. Selena went from blaming her mom for the divorce at age five to thanking her for working three jobs at age thirty. Perspective changes as you age.
If you're navigating a complex relationship with your own parents, remember that you don't have to have it all figured out by 25. Sometimes it takes a decade of distance and a few "quarter for gas" realizations to understand the sacrifices people made when they were barely adults themselves.
Check out Selena's documentary My Mind & Me if you want the raw, unedited look at these family dynamics—it's probably the most honest celebrity parent portrayal we've ever seen.