Justin Bieber has faced his fair share of hardships since skyrocketing to fame in the early 2000s with his debut album and hit single ‘Baby’<\/b>
\nJustin Bieber has faced his fair share of hardships since skyrocketing to fame after being discovered by Scooter Braun in 2007.
Upon breaking onto the scene with his debut album, My World 2.0, the two-time Grammy winner was beloved by the world over for his boyish charm, famous hair \u201cswoop\u201d and age-appropriate love songs.
However, in the years that followed, Bieber\u2019s partying ways became the subject of much scrutiny and worry \u2014 from his fans, parents and Braun himself.
\u201cI was worried every night that I was going to lose him. I thought he was going to die,\u201d Braun shared on \u201cThe Red Pill\u201d podcast in 2018. \u201cI thought he was going to sleep one night and that he would have so much crap in his system that he would not wake up the next morning.\u201d
Bieber\u2019s romantic life also made frequent headlines \u2014 namely, his high-profile romances with Selena Gomez and future wife Hailey Bieber.
Keep scrolling for Justin\u2019s highs and lows throughout the years:
Braun discovered Justin on YouTube when the singer was just a young teen in the early 2000s. The \u201cBaby\u201d singer released his debut album, My World 2.0, in 2010 following his My World EP. The record ultimately went 4x platinum.
In 2014, Justin dealt with two racism scandals in one week. In the videos shared online, one clip showed the singer telling a racist joke five years prior, while the other piece of footage featured a young Justin singing a racist parody of his song \u201cOne Less Lonely Girl.\u201d The parody replaced \u201cgirl\u201d with the N-word and made references to the KKK.
\u201cI\u2019m very sorry,\u201d Justin said in a statement to the Associated Press at the time. \u201cI take all my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable behavior.\u201d
He added: \u201cI thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but I didn\u2019t realize at the time that it wasn\u2019t funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance. Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all of those who I have offended.\u201d
In his 2020 documentary, Justin Bieber: Seasons, the Canada native got real about his struggles with substance abuse.
\u201cMy security and stuff would come into my room at night to check my pulse. People don\u2019t know how serious it got. It was legit crazy scary,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI was waking up in the morning and the first thing I was doing was popping pills and smoking a blunt and starting my day. It just got scary. I basically said to myself, I\u2019m like, \u2018God, if you\u2019re real, you get me through this season of stopping these pills and stuff, and if you do, I\u2019ll do the rest of the work.’\u201d
Justin and his mom, Pattie Mallette \u2014 who was just a teen when she gave birth to her only son in March 1994 \u2014 were always extremely close. However, their relationship soured as Justin struggled with drugs.
\u201cI was distant because I was ashamed,\u201d he later reflected to Billboard in 2015 about his relationship with his mom. \u201cWe spent some time not talking, so it takes time to rebuild that trust. She\u2019s living in Hawaii now, so it\u2019s hard, but getting better. She\u2019s an amazing woman and I love her.\u201d
Justin and Gomez went public with their romance at the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscars party, breaking up for the first time one year later. As the duo continued to be on and off over the next several years \u2014 with both stars dating other A-listers in their \u201coff\u201d periods \u2014 they ultimately called it quits for good in 2018, several months before Justin proposed to Hailey.
The future couple initially met in 2008 after being introduced by Hailey\u2019s dad, actor Stephen Baldwin. While Justin and Hailey became friends \u2014 and on and off romantic partners \u2014 in the years following, the \u201cWhat Do You Mean?\u201d artist got real about not wanting to hurt the model while he focused on himself.
\u201cWhat if Hailey ends up being the girl I\u2019m gonna marry, right? If I rush into anything, if I damage her, then it\u2019s always gonna be damaged,\u201d Justin told GQ in 2016. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to fix wounds like that. It\u2019s so hard. \u2026 I just don\u2019t want to hurt her.\u201d
Two years later \u2014 after his final split from Gomez \u2014 Justin and Hailey tied the knot in a courthouse ceremony in New York City. In 2019, they threw a larger ceremony attended by their families and friends.
Justin got real about his battle with Lyme disease in 2020.
\u201cWhile a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s\u2014t, on meth etc. they failed to realize I\u2019ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health,\u201d he wrote via Instagram at the time.
Two years later, Justin canceled his tour dates amid another health scare \u2014 this time: Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
\u201cIt is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,\u201d Justin said in an Instagram video at the time, showing his followers that he couldn\u2019t move half of his face. \u201cAs you can see this eye is not blinking. I can\u2019t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move.\u201d
As for his canceled concert dates, \u201cI\u2019m just physically not capable of doing them,\u201d Justin noted. \u201cThis is pretty serious as you can see. I wish this wasn\u2019t the case. But obviously, my body is telling me I need to slow down.\u201d
In August 2023, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Justin \u201cofficially let Scooter go as his manager\u201d amid reports that Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande also parted ways with the music executive.
The insider added that it was Hailey who \u201cled the charge that led Justin to leave him for another manager.\u201d
A separate insider, however, told Us one day prior that \u201call of Scooter Braun\u2019s clients are under contract and negotiations have been going on for several months as Scooter steps into his larger role as Hybe America CEO.\u201d The source elaborated: \u201cPeople are spreading rumors based on what they know, but they are off. Scooter\u2019s team at SB Projects are still handling both Justin and Ariana as they work through what this new structure looks like.\u201d
Justin kicked off his fatherhood era with wife Hailey in August 2024, welcoming son Jack Blues.
Rumors started swirling in January 2025 that Justin had unfollowed Hailey on Instagram, sparking speculation about the status of their marriage. Justin was quick to set the record straight, claiming \u201csomeone went on my account and unfollowed my wife.\u201d
Fans continued to express concern for the singer, and his reps spoke out claiming that any rumors about Justin using drugs were \u201cabsolutely not true.\u201d They slammed \u201cexhausting and pitiful\u201d speculation noting that \u201cdespite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive.\u201d
The Hollywood Reporter posted an article in April 2025 resurfacing the concerns about his mental health and claiming that Justin was millions of dollars in debt after the cancellation of his 2023 Justice World Tour.
\u201cThis is just clickbait stupidity based on unnamed \u2014 and clearly ill-informed \u2014 \u2018sources,\u2019 disappointed that they no longer work with Justin,\u201d his team shared in a statement to Us. \u201cAs Justin forges his own way forward, these unnecessary stories and inaccurate assumptions will continue. But they won\u2019t deter him from staying committed to following the right path.\u201d
Justin, to the delight of fans, released his first album since Justice in July 2025. The record, titled Swag, featured 20 songs about relationship woes and more.
\u201cBaby, I ain\u2019t walking away \/ You were my diamond \/ Gave you a ring \/ I made you a promise,\u201d he sings in \u201cWalking Away,\u201d presumably referring to Hailey. \u201cI told you I\u2019d change \/ It\u2019s just human nature \/ These growing pains \/ And baby, I ain\u2019t walking away.\u201d
A music insider told Us that the LP was a \u201cpersonal project.\u201d
\u201cThis is more of a personal project that Justin has been wanting to put out, almost like a mixtape,\u201d the source said. \u201cHis label is planning a more traditional pop album for early next year.\u201d<\/p>\n