The internet's most intriguing married couple, Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber, opened up about their whirlwind romance in a new interview with Vogue. The pair, who reconnected at a church service in the summer of 2018 and married that fall, talked a lot about how religion impacts their relationship. Most notably, Bieber told Vogue that he stayed celibate before getting married, because he had "a legitimate problem with sex," which he described as an addiction, and wanted to feel closer to God.
"I wanted to rededicate myself to God in that way, because I really felt it was better for the condition of my soul," Bieber told Vogue. "And I believe that God blessed me with Hailey as a result. There are perks. You get rewarded for good behaviour."
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Despite Bieber's dedication to God and going to church, Bieber said he doesn't consider himself religious, but he does believe in the story of Jesus. "I get sensitive when religion comes up because it’s been so hurtful to a lot of people," he told Vogue. "I don’t want to be thought of as someone who stands for any of the injustice that religion has done and does do."
Giving up sex was just one way that Bieber reinvented himself after some "douchey" moments that he said were a result of him "feeling myself too much." In 2013, Bieber was abusing Xanax because he was "ashamed of, being super promiscuous and stuff," he told Vogue. "My mom always said to treat women with respect. For me that was always in my head while I was doing it, so I could never enjoy it," he said. "Drugs put a screen between me and what I was doing. It got pretty dark."
A year later, his friend and pastor from Hillsong Church, Carl Lentz, tried to get Bieber to move to his home in New Jersey to "detox" and focus on religion. Baldwin said she "grieved very intensely over the whole situation" and is proud of the way he’s stayed sober without a program or formal coach. "I think it’s extraordinary," she told Vogue. "He is, in ways, a walking miracle." Baldwin has experience with addiction and sobriety, as her dad Stephen Baldwin had a serious and public cocaine problem. He’s been sober for almost 30 years.
These days, the Biebers' are enjoying figuring out how to be a married couple, which includes going to therapy, and learning how to communicate in a healthy way. But, piousness aside, Bieber said they still argue: "Fighting is good," Justin told Vogue. "Doesn’t the Bible talk about righteous anger?"