“The year wasn't just me trying to transition in my career — it was my whole life. I had to reconfigure everything,” Gomez says, sitting up tall and looking me in the eye. “That was a little uncomfortable and very scary. I didn't have anything to fall back on.” Not that she felt like she had a choice. “At the same time, the public perception of me was unfair and very invasive. I was trying to figure out all my own stuff in my personal life while everybody had an opinion.” Those opinions weren’t so kind. Scan the headlines from that time, and a sad portrait of Gomez comes together: She was “desperate,” “angry,” “heartbroken,” “insecure” — a “girl” who just couldn’t get her shit together.