'I can talk to her about anything': Justin Bieber tells Oprah of his love for Selena Gomez... in poignant interview filmed pre-split

By Eleanor Gower

PUBLISHED: 02:23 EST, 26 November 2012 | UPDATED: 06:30 EST, 26 November 2012

The status of their relationship is unclear after their recent break up.

But a loved-up Justin Bieber was full of praise for his on-off girlfriend Selena Gomez during an interview with Oprah Winfrey recorded last month.

'I am all about genuine people, and I feel like she’s just one of the most genuine people,' he told the talk show host in the chat which aired on Sunday night. 'She just has a good heart. And I can talk to her about anything.'

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Candid: Justin Bieber discussed his love for girlfriend Selena Gomez in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on the OWN channel on Sunday night

Happier memories: Justin discussed his love for on-off girlfriend Selena Gomez

Acknowledging she was his 'girlfriend,' Justin said he made sure they were always together, when caught by the paparazzi.

'I never make her separate from me because I don’t ever want her to feel like I’m ashamed with her,' he said. 'If we get away, we’re getting away together, at least.'

He also admitted to being unable to resist public displays of affection with Selena, revealing that the most romantic thing he had done for her was arranging dinner in the middle of the Staples Centre, with a viewing of Titanic on the big screen.

The couple are said to have broken up earlier this month, but were spotted together at an American Music Awards after party last week.

But, initially mindful of Selena getting death threats from his legions of fans, Justin admits he had to think hard about going public with the relationship.  

'I'm always thoughtful about my fans,' he said. 'People will say means things but I need to be happy. I can't be single my own life. If I can be with everybody, with all of the fans I could!'

However, Oprah was more stern with the star about his professed plans to be married by the time he was 25, and urged him to rethink - 'I think 25's too young,' she declared.

'You are Oprah and you're telling me not to get married at 25. I should provably listen to you,' Justin replied. 'We'll see when I get there but I'm not there yet.'

No subject uncovered: Oprah quizzed the pint sized star on his love life, attitude to fame and music career

Chat over dinner: Oprah took the Canadian teenager to her favourite Chicago restaurant Ralph Lauren RL

After admitting he wanted a 'handful of children' although isn't 'ready' to be a father yet, the teenage heart-throb admitted that even he can get lonely at times.

'You just feel sometimes you need someone to be there with you,' he said. 'Some days you’ve gone through, you have pain in your heart because maybe you haven’t dealt with that. Some days you’re depressed and you don’t know why because you haven’t dealt with it.'

Oprah was clearly excited to be sitting down with the star, in what she called: 'My biggest interview since Michael Jackson in 1993.'

The pair seemed relaxed as they sat down to a lunch of French fries and salad at Oprah's favourite Chicago restaurant Ralph Lauren's RL,where the talk show queen quizzed Justin on topics ranging from fame to family and fans. 

VIDEO: I don't like to be separate from her. Justin chats about Selena pre-split

On my own: Justin admitted to feeling lonely at times, despite his superstardom

Excited: Oprah declared the chat was her 'biggest interview since Michael Jackson in 1993

'When was the last time you could go to a restaurant without being bothered?' she asked.

'We definitely have a lot of people getting up and asking for pictures while eating,' said Justin. 'But it's probably been about a year and a half since I could go to a restaurant where no-one's bothered me.

'I just want to go eat my favourite food whatever that may be.'

Revealing his food tastes run conservatively to TGI Friday and steak dinners, Justin admitted he tries to keep his feet on the ground amidst all the attention.

'I really don’t have a lot of friends. I have three close friends,' he admitted.

Serenade: Justin came outside to perform an impromptu acoustic song to fans 

Heartfelt: Justin discussed his regard for his legions of fans, who include 30 million Twitter followers

Teenage dream: Oprah seemed quite overcome at the attention from the Beliebers

'I try to be as normal as I can with the abnormal life that I have,' he added. 'It's definitely not normal and there’s so many sacrifices that I’ve had to do, but at the end of the day, I’ve been able to do so much, that I would have never been able to do.

'Travel. I'd never been on a plane before this - I've never been out of Canada.'

Unafraid to address difficult topics, Oprah quizzed Justin on Mariah Yeater's false claim that he fathered her baby last year. 

'I know, that's crazy. So many stories,' said Justin, admitting he decided to take a paternity test: 'Because I didn't want it to go on any longer, I saw that no-one was believing it. and then I felt better.'

Happy families: Justin has a great relationship with mother Pattie and father Jeremy

Baby Beiber: Justin's father Jeremy split from his mother Pattie shortly after he was born

Mother and son: Justin praised his mother and father's parenting skills in the Oprah interview

The chat also covered Justin's career beginnings, with his discovery by current manager Scooter Braun who saw YouTube videos of the star and recommended him to Usher, who signed him to his record label.

'I kind of became obsessed with him,' said Braun who has been guiding Justin into recently developing his new grown up sound.

Shop til we drop: Oprah helped Justin shop for a dress for his four-year-old half sister Jazzy

Generous: Justin listened to Oprah's fashion advice when it came to selecting clothes for his siblings

'Being a teen heartthrob is fun and I love the screams - that's not a bad thing,' Justin admitted. 'But I want it to be about my music. I want people to respect my music. It's not about people putting someone with a nice smile and good hair on TV.'

He added: 'I want people to see me and not just hate on me just because other people hate on me.'

But he acknowledged some people are waiting for him to 'mess up because a lot of teen stars do - they make that mistake of getting into drugs or alcohol.'

Teen dream: The programme also went behind the scenes at Justin's sold out concert

Fan favourite: Oprah went backstage and met some of Justin's eager fans

'So what stops you from being a crack up?' asked Oprah.

'Just remembering what's important. I have to remember to take time for myself to talk to people about what I'm going through about what's in my head,' he replied.

The show also saw Oprah going backstage to the star's sold out concert and take him shopping for outfits for his younger half siblings Jazzy, four and two-year-old Jackson.

Leather man: Justin sported black clinging trousers and a black vest for a performance on CFL's 100th Grey Cup Championship at the Rogers Centre on Sunday in Toronto, Canada

After the chat, Justin serenaded his waiting fans with an acoustic version of song As Long As You Love Me.

But rather than watching his interview, Justin donned a leather vest and matching trousers for a performance on CFL's 100th Grey Cup Championship in Toronto in his native Canada.

His protege Carly Rae Jepsen also took to the stage sporting a black jacket, skirt and boots.

Dance magic: Justin put in an energetic performance while his interview with Oprah aired on OWN

Protege: Carly Rae Jepson sported a black jacket and jacket with boots as she performed at the show

• The UK premiere of Oprah’s Next Chapter: Justin Bieber is on 26 Nov 21.00 on DMAX (Sky 144 | Virgin 172)