Was Selena Gomez Unaware of Mother Mandy Teefey Taking Loan Against Her House for Start-Up? Source Reveals Truth

Selena Gomez and her mother, Mandy Teefey, are in the spotlight as reports surface about financial trouble at their mental health company, Wondermind. On Saturday, May 10, Forbes reported that employees at the company missed a recent paycheck, while freelancers and vendors were awaiting overdue payments.

Teefey, who serves as Wondermind's CEO, reportedly told employees earlier this week that she had taken out a personal loan against her home to settle the company's debts.

However, a source told PEOPLE that Teefey did not take out a loan for the salaries. Instead, the source clarified, “Selena has invested millions of dollars over the years into Wondermind to support her mother and their shared passion for mental health."

They added that when Selena was alerted about the most recent financial setback, she immediately invested more money, as she is not involved in the day-to-day operations. The source added that Mandy had chosen to take the lead with a personal loan to invest in the future of the company.

A spokesperson for Wondermind told Forbes that the issue has been rectified and all outstanding payments would be made by May 12. The representative stated, “Like many startups, Wondermind has been working through its own set of growing pains,” and said that in the coming days, they will be transitioning into a new chapter for Wondermind and continuing their important work in mental fitness that helps hundreds of thousands of people.

Wondermind was founded in December 2021 by Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefey, and Newsette founder Daniella Pierson. The platform aims to create a safe, stigma-free space for mental health conversations. It features newsletters, essays, and podcasts related to mental fitness. In 2022, the company raised USD 5 million in funding at a USD 100 million valuation.

Although some employees claimed Gomez only met with the team once in three years, a spokesperson told Forbes that this was not true. In 2021, Gomez told Entrepreneur that she had always tried to lend her voice to places where it mattered in her career, and she gave her mom credit for that because she had taught her everything.

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