Are Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez Actually Friends?

When it comes to celebrity romances, none have been on-again, off-again quite as much as the one between Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. The duo first got together back in 2010, and since then have called things off and then made up more times than I can count. However, it seems like Gomez and Bieber finally called it quits for good earlier this year, and since then have gone their separate ways, dating other people and concentrating on their individual careers. Only now they've released a new song together called "Strong," which makes me wonder just how "over" they really are, and if Bieber and Gomez are friends instead of just exes.

Sure, plenty of people stay close after they stop dating, but given how intense and tumultuous things seemed to be between Jelena most of the time, it wouldn't have been surprising if their decision to break up wasn't accompanied by a vow to never speak again. Clearly they have, however, to the point that doing a song together seemed like a good idea to both of them. I'm not complaining, of course, but I am a little confused. It's basically the equivalent of you getting together with an ex you spent five years of your life with to, I don't know, build a house or something. Why bother?

One thing is clear: no matter what happened between Gomez and Bieber, there are still feelings there, and that's totally natural. They were one another's firsts in more ways than one, and just because a relationship doesn't work out doesn't mean you don't still really love the other person — it's just not right for you to be together. Both stars have discussed the relationship in recent interviews, with Gomez revealing in the October issue of Elle that she didn't know if she would ever reunite with Bieber again. As for Bieber, he seemed a bit more reticent about resuming the relationship in the October/November issue of Complex , but didn't rule it out, instead focusing on what he learned from their young romance.

"We were so in love. Nothing else mattered. We were all about each other. But when it's like that and you get your value from that, people will always disappoint you. Your girl or your dude, they're always going to disappoint you. Your full identity can't be in that person. My identity was in her. Her identity was in me."

While it's natural that your first relationship comes with a steep learning curve, Bieber and Gomez's continued break-up-to-make-up approach to love (at least where the other is concerned) has to mean that there's something more there. And given that Bieber described his relationship with Gomez as "a marriage kind of thing," it seems like there has to be a chance for them to reunite. Fans at least know they're talking — you'd assume they have to be to record a song together — and the emotional nature of "Strong" may or may not be about their connection. Or, you know, it could just be a song.

Whatever happens, we'll just have to wait and see. I'm rooting for them, however, and I'll be listening to "Strong" and daydreaming about another Jelena reunion in the near future.