Not Even a Fear of Flying Could Keep Benny Blacno Away From Selena Gomez on Her Birthday
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco just celebrated her first birthday as husband and wife. There was one minor complication, though. Gomez has been filming the next season of Only Murders in the Building in London, while Blanco held down the fort in California. Blanco wasn’t going to let an ocean keep them apart, though. He made sure he was by his wife’s side for her big day, despite a paralyzing fear of flying that has had him relying on alternative transportation for years.
Benny Blanco crossed the Atlantic via boat to be with Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez revealed how she spent her July 22 birthday this year, while filming season six of Only Murders in the Building. After Blanco made his way to London, the couple set off together on a romantic getaway to Italy, where her big day was marked with an Italian cooking class and feast in Tuscany.
Blanco didn’t get to London via plane, though. Instead, the music producer left New York City by boat before July 16 to reach his wife in time for her special day, with the pair traveling on to Italy together once he arrived.
Blanco shared that he was taking a transatlantic crossing to get to Gomez on July 16. While he didn’t reveal exactly what ship he was on in his TikTok upload, instead suggesting he was on the Titanic, he likely took Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 to get to Selena. It’s the only ocean liner that makes regularly scheduled Atlantic crossings out of New York City. It generally leaves from Brooklyn, with the crossing taking about sevend days.
He has gotten creative with his travel before
Blanco’s discomfort with flying isn’t new, and it’s something he’s spoken about publicly for years. In an earlier interview, he described the feeling bluntly, saying flying terrifies him and that he prefers other transportation methods to get where he needs to go. In fact, he admitted to regularly driving across the country, especially when Selena is filming in New York City.
It isn’t the first time he’s spent seven days on a cruise to get to the United Kingdom, either. He revealed that his fear of flying led him to do the same while working with Ed Sheeran. Gomez has discussed the fear, too, noting that she’d never want to push him to do something he’s so fearful of. The pair seem to make it work, despite Gomez’s career requiring regular air travel.
Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez have been making it work, despite the distance
Gomez and Blanco began dating in the summer of 2023, and their romance quickly became one of the most talked-about in Hollywood when they opted to go public in December of that year. The two married in an intimate ceremony in September 2025.
Since then, they’ve both been busy with work, but still find time to spend together. Blanco and Gomez reunited on July 3 for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding in New York, before Gomez headed back to London and Blanco eventually followed her via boat. Filming on Only Murders in the Building began in London in May and is expected to run through the rest of the summer. After that, Selena will head back stateside.
