Pop star Justin Bieber raised eyebrows after apologizing to his wife, Hailey Bieber, on social media for telling her she would "never be on the cover of Vogue."
His remarks were in response to the model's Vogue cover, published Tuesday. Taking to Instagram, Justin Bieber shared photos from the shoot along with his apology, which he quickly deleted, but not before it was spotted by media outlets and fans.
"Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight," he began in the caption, according to People. "I told hails that she would never be on the cover of vogue. Yikes I know, so mean."
Justin Bieber recalled hurling his insult because he "felt so disrespected" and "thought I gotta get even," according to People.
"I think as we mature we realize that we're not helping anything by getting even," he continued, the outlet reported. "We're honestly just prolonging what we really want which is intimacy and connection."
Concluding his post, Justin Bieber spoke directly to his wife, saying, "So baby u already know but forgive me for saying u wouldn't get a vogue cover cuz clearly i was sadly mistaken," according to People.
In the Vogue article, Justin Bieber said marrying Hailey Bieber as the "smartest" decision he's ever made.
"I've done a lot of dumb things in my life, but the smartest thing I've ever done was marry Hailey," he said.
In the article, he also addressed the criticism his wife faces online
"She's in the spotlight, and has the attention because of her effortless knack for style, business, art and fashion," he said. "And the way she makes being a mom and wife look easy.”
When it comes to handling criticism, Hailey Bieber said she follows Justin Bieber's advice.
"I've learned so much from Justin, really," she said. "He's been doing this literally since he was a child and he has had to face the most scrutiny of any person that I know. He was like, 'Baby, trust me, I've been here before many, many times. You're not going to win. There is no winning."
The couple married in a civil ceremony in 2018, followed by a star-studded wedding celebration in 2019. They announced the birth of their son, Jack Blues Bieber, on Aug. 23.
Their relationship has been under scrutiny since tying the knot. Most recently, Justin Bieber made headlines after unfollowing Hailey Bieber on Instagram. He later said he was hacked.
"Someone went on my account and unfollowed my wife," he wrote in a since-deleted post in January, according to E! News. "[Expletive] is getting suss out here."
In an interview published in July, Hailey Bieber pushed back against speculation that their relationship was strained, telling W Magazine they were going strong.
"People have made me feel so bad about my relationship since day one," she said. "'Oh, they're falling apart. They hate each other. They're getting divorced.' It's like people don't want to believe that we're happy."