Selma Blair on Dating Again After MS Diagnosis and Past ‘Emotionally Abusive’ Relationship

It’s been more than five years since Selma Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She hasn’t dated since, but the 51-year-old actress shares she’s now ready to do that, and so much more.

In an interview with Glamour for its 2023 Women of the Year honorees issue, Blair conjured up a “bad relationship” when discussing getting back in the dating scene. According to the magazine, Blair hasn’t dated since she was first diagnosed with MS back in August 2018, though she waited until October of that year to disclose the diagnosis. Blair, 46 at the time, also shared that she “probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least.”

Fast-forward to now, Blair says she’s started to feel ready for romance, though she knows her diagnosis presents added challenges to an already complicated world called dating.

“I think the disability word, because I said I was — it just confuses people,” she says. “Like, as if I don’t have a vagina.”

But to get to this point, Blair had to overcome her own set of challenges, like realizing she deserved better than a past relationship.

“I had a bad relationship,” she explains. “I didn’t realize how emotionally abusive and controlling they were, taking advantage of meeting me in a really vulnerable time.”

She added, “I was convinced that’s what I deserved. When you’re in a rough spot, you can meet some opportunistic people. It’s really dangerous.”

That being said, the Cruel Intentions star was recently reminded of the beauty in love thanks to a man who captivated her in more ways than one. Glamour reports she recently met a man at a friend’s birthday dinner, and it was exciting.

“Something in this person inspired me to see myself differently by the way he looked at the world,” said Blair, who is being bestowed with the magazine’s Daring to Disrupt Award as an advocate for MS. “Just from that brief meeting, I thought, I have something I didn’t know I did.”

Your move, mystery man.

In any event, it’s evident that Blair’s more than just ready to date. It’s clear that finding love evokes a myriad of tender emotions she’s ready to experience.

“What [being in love] does for your spirit — it’s nothing to take lightly,” she says. “It colors everything. I still believe if I’m just true to myself, that person will come into my life one day. … I think I deserve it and think I’m in a great place to show up as the best version of me. It’s the first time I have hope. And I could have never said that in my life before.”

RELATED CONTENT: