Billionaire Selena Gomez’s Mom Mandy Teefey Took Out Home Loan to Help Pay Employees at Singer's Mental Health Startup After Facing Funding Struggles
Selena Gomez's mother took out a loan to pay employees of the mental health startup she co-founded wit her daughter.
May 12 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Selena Gomez has sparked backlash after her mom Mandy Teefey claimed she took out a loan against her home to pay employees of her daughter's mental health startup despite the singer being worth billions, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Teefey, 49, serves as the CEO of Wondermind, the mental health startup she co-founded with Gomez, 32, and Daniella Pierson in 2022.
Singer's Startup Suffers Financial Woes Three Years After Launch
Teefey reportedly took out a home loan in order to pay Wondermind employees.
Three years after Wondermind launched, Forbes reported Teefey was forced to take out a home loan in order to pay the startup's 15 employees in March.
The loan was said to not cover costs owed to vendors and freelancers.
Wondermind employees were said to have worked without compensation for multiple pay periods. Teefey's loan reportedly covered at least one of two missed checks, though freelancers and vendors were still waiting to be paid "hundreds of thousands" of dollars for their work.
Wondermind Employees Lose Health Benefits Amid Lack of Funding
Teefey, Gomez and Daniella Pierson co-founded the mental health startup in 2022.
In addition to freelancers, an anonymous source claimed the mental health startup owed $60,000 to a PR firm.
Wondermind told the outlet they have since "rectified" the issue and the remaining payments will be made on Monday, May 12.
The same month Wondermind couldn't afford to pay its employees, Teefey notified staff via email that employee benefits would be slashed.
Her email read: "We apologize for the email on a wellness day. As you are aware, we have been working tirelessly to secure our next round of funding."
Teefey's email went on to inform employees that as a result, they would have to enroll in COBRA coverage, which allows workers who have been laid off or reduced hours to temporarily continue their health insurance coverage.
Wondermind employees also had health benefits slashed in March.
Wondermind attributed pay issues and benefit cuts to "growing pains" in a statement.
The company said: "Like many startups, Wondermind has been working through its own set of growing pains. In the coming days, we will be transitioning into a new chapter for Wondermind, and continuing our important work in mental fitness that helps hundreds of thousands of people."
Meanwhile, insiders claimed Wondermind began experiencing issues in January 2023 when Teefey was appointed sole CEO, although the mental health startup's chief of staff, Emma Wright, called the accusations "insanely, grossly misleading."
A separate source claimed Gomez 'immediately invested more money' after learning of Wondermind's 'financial setbacks.'
Critics were quick to slam Gomez for not stepping up and footing the bill to pay Wondermind employees amid the startup's "growing pains."
One X user wrote, "Where is the billionaire daughter to help her own mother? This is so… sad."
Another echoed: "How are you a "billionaire" but failing to pay your employees??"
A third simply commented: "Selena is a fraud."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Meanwhile, a separate source hit back at criticism of Gomez amid claims she wasn't helping her company and insisted she "immediately invested more money" after learning of recent "financial setbacks."
The source said: "Selena has invested millions of dollars over the years into Wondermind to support her mother and their shared passion for mental health, including when she was alerted about the most recent financial setback, and immediately invested more money, as she's not involved in the day-to-day operations.
"To invest in the future of the company, Mandy has chosen to take the lead here with a personal loan to invest in the future of the company."
