MUMBAI: Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber go way back.

It was 2009 when the model and the singer first met in the lobby of the Today show. And in the years to follow, they formed a friendship and briefly dated in 2016. They then rekindled their romance in 2018, tying the knot at a New York courthouse later that year.

As Hailey told Elle for its April 2021 cover story, Justin was "at a stage of his life where he could make decisions like, ‘I'm done with girls, and I'm done with fooling around, and I'm done with partying.'"

"We were friends first for a really long time before there was anything romantic," she explained. "But we always knew that we were aligned on what we wanted in our future. We had talked about wanting to be married young and having a family young and building a life. Even before we knew we wanted to be with each other."

The couple exchanged vows a second time during a 2019 wedding in South Carolina. However, Hailey didn't mind waiting a year to celebrate this next chapter. "I mean, I was married when I was 21, two months before I turned 22, which is insanely young," the star, now 24, continued. "And sounds almost ridiculous when you say it out loud. Although I do think for somebody like me and somebody like Justin, [it's different]. We've seen a lot for our age. We have both lived enough life to know that's what we wanted."

Still, newlywed life came with its challenges, including intense public scrutiny. "In the beginning of our marriage, I just wanted to hide," Hailey told the magazine. "I was like, ‘I don't want people so in my business. I feel like everybody's up my ass.' I was like, ‘Can there be no anonymity? Can I have any of it back?'"

According to Elle, Hailey even decided to turn off public comments on her Instagram account last year because of trolling. "I remember someone telling me that [turning off the public comments] really lowers your engagement," she added. "And I was like, ‘I could give a f--k about engagement! People are terrorizing me. Engagement, enschagement. I don't care!'"

Hailey and Justin are also hounded by the paparazzi. So, the couple tries to keep their private life exactly that—private. They enjoy spending time at home with their friends, and Justin recently revealed he doesn't have a cellphone.

Of course, their careers keep them busy. In addition to modeling, Hailey launched a new YouTube channel. Justin, 27, is also getting ready to release his sixth studio album, Justice, out March 19. But their top priority is always each other.

"I love him very much," Hailey told Vogue in 2019. "I have loved him for a long time."