JUST when the world thought that Selena Gomez could do no wrong, she went and did just that. Last week, pictures of Selena on a luxury yacht caused a hoo-ha on the Internet and it wasn’t her teeny blue bikini that got all the attention – it was the boy she was pictured hanging out with.

The images showed a floppy-haired, skinny, bare-chested and pale Justin Bieber hugging Selena affectionately; there’s also one of him giving her a peck on the cheek. This finally (okay, sort of) confirms the rumour that the two teen sensations are dating, a topic which they don’t acknowledge nor discuss in interviews.

They have claimed to being “only friends” and Selena has even once said that Justin is like a brother to her.

Earlier on, Selena and Justin were seen hanging out at various places with friends and were recently pictured taking a long walk, flirting and acting cutesy in Miami, Florida. So, it’s kind of official, huh?

Didn’t I just tell off Selena’s ex-BFF Demi Lovato in last week’s article for her bad taste in men (she dated Joe Jonas)? I take that back now and throw it at Selena instead.

But before I berate the pop star any further, I do unfortunately remember the resolution I made in the beginning of this year which was to give Justin a chance and not make fun of him (or anyone associated with him) any more than I should. So yes, poor taste Selena, but I accept your decision to date the 16-year-old boy.

Besides, I think Selena got more than she bargained for after going public with her relationship with the Canadian superstar. She has been getting death threats from Biebettes (Justin’s diehard female fans) all over the world and some of them sound pretty serious.

These are just a few of the threats the singer received via Twitter: “I’ll kill you I swear on GOD!!!!”, “If you are the Girlfriend of Justin I will Kill you I HATE YOU :@ !!!” and “roses are red, violets are blue, @selenagomez if you’ll break @justinbieber’s heart I’m gonna kill you.”

Some are even calling the 18-year-old Selena a “cougar” (eh, she’s just two years older!) for even thinking about dating Justin. Then again, she isn’t the first female Hollywood personality to date a younger guy.

Remember how Demi Moore caused a big furore when she went public with her relationship with the waaay younger Ashton Kutcher? No one could get past the 16-year age difference between them at the time.

People couldn’t believe it when they heard that Demi and Ashton were walking down the aisle in 2005, and their marriage seemed rock solid until cheating allegations began to surface last year. Brittney Jones claimed that she and Ashton had sex on his couch while Demi was out of town.

Of course, the couple say that Brittney is a liar and that nothing happened between Ashton and the alleged mistress, but there are also sources who claim that the huge age difference is catching up to them.

The unnamed source (when have any of them been named before?) was quoted in People magazine saying, “Somehow I thought it was going to come back to haunt them … He got married young and, as crass as this sounds, never seemed to have his fill.”

One cougar whose marriage fell through because of the age difference is Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria. The seven-year age difference between the actress and her basketball-star husband Tony Parker proved to be too small, because he cheated on her with an older woman!

Tony was caught “sexting” 38-year-old Erin Barry (wife of his former San Antonio Spurs teammate), and this didn’t go well with 35-year-old hottie Eva, who then filed for divorce.

Although there wasn’t any cheating involved in the Halle Berry household, that didn’t stop the 44-year-old cougar from saying goodbye to her baby daddy, Gabriel Aubry.

Halle, who famously proclaimed to Oprah Winfrey that she won’t get married for the third time, apparently ended her four-year relationship with Gabriel, who wanted to legalise their union. Halle is 10 years older than her model ex-boyfriend.

Erm, none of these Hollywood cougar/prey relationship seems to be going alright now, does it? Maybe age is more than just a number in these cases.

I don’t think that Selena has anything to worry about with her relationship with Justin, though. Just because some of the older woman-younger man coupling didn’t work out, it doesn’t mean that her relationship is destined for doom. I’m sure Justin will stick to his older gal just like how he will stick to flipping his mop top in that annoying way which makes me want to pull his hair out (there goes my resolution!).

Sharm says: Being a cougar will never go out of style. Just ask Madonna. Rumour has it that she’s planning to adopt her next boyfriend from Malawi soon … joking!