Selena Gomez’s mother, Mandy Teefey, is grateful for their “incredible” bond this holiday season.
On Thursday, Teefey, 47, shared a sweet carousel of images on Instagram of her spending precious moments with the “Single Soon” singer, 31, over the years, just in time for Thanksgiving thanks.
“Where we are today is incredible,” Teefey wrote.
On the cover photo was a photo of Teefey holding Gomez when she was just a baby. “We came a long way to get here and most importantly, we are still family first,” her caption continued.
He then explained that the emotional burdens had not ended that day.
“The last photo is me holding Gracie, who was born a few days later. Gracie’s next montage!!! “XO.”
Teefey welcomed Gomez in 1992 and the star has been open about the impact her mother had on her growing up.
After marrying Brian Teefey in 2006, Teefey and her husband welcomed their daughter Gracie in 2013.
“I was a teen mom with Selena, obviously, and that judged me a lot,” Mandy told ET in a March 2017 interview. “My neighborhood was really dangerous [with] gangs. With all that, and when I got pregnant, I think that’s what triggered it, because I thought, ‘Okay, I have another person who depends on me.’ I have to come clean,’ and that’s when I started working hard. I say, ‘I’m not going to let her get the education I got.'”
In a previous E! Special, the star of Only Murders in the Building gave his point of view. “Having me at 16 must have been a great responsibility,” Gómez said. “My mom gave up everything for me and had like three jobs.”
The Rare Beauty founder also expressed her gratitude for her mother’s sacrifices.
“When I started working, my mom was the person in my life that helped me get through most of that. Everything that I am has become a little bit of what my mother has been through,” Gomez told Time when the publication profiled her for TIME Firsts, a multimedia project featuring 46 innovative women.
“She had the ability to make me feel like I was still capable of doing whatever I wanted.”