Although Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) skipped out on the red carpet at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, the lovebirds did have a sweet exchange after the “Peaches” artist won one of the first awards of the star-studded night.
While accepting the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video for “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar, Justin, 27, thanked his family members, including Hailey, 24, who he referred to as his “bae.”
The singer has a long history with the VMAs, making his first appearance in 2009. At just 15, Justin was already an established presence (P. Diddy called him a “great man in the making,”), but he wouldn’t take home his first Moon Person trophy until the following year — Best New Artist. He also performed at the VMAs for the first time in 2010, with a combination of his popular songs “U Smile,” “Baby,” and “Somebody to Love.”
In 2011, he picked up another Moon Person for Best Male Video, but his return in 2015 to perform is what may stand out the most in a Belieber’s memory. After his performance, the “What Do You Mean?” singer was greeted with a round of applause — which caused him to break down in tears.
“I just wasn’t expecting [the audience] to support me in the way that they did. Last time I was at an award show, I was booed,” Justin explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, referring to the “boos” he received while accepting the first-ever Milestone Award at the Billboard Awards in 2013.
It has been six years since the “Peaches” singer has performed at the VMAs.
As for Hailey, the model made waves at the VMAs in 2017, when she wore two very revealing jumpsuits — the first, for the red carpet, a silver jumpsuit. Then, before helping introduce DNCE’s performance with Rod Stewart, she changed into a sheer black jumpsuit, wearing only black briefs underneath. She wore a similar see-through look at the 2016 VMAs, dubbed her “revenge look,” while Justin had a brief fling with Sofia Richie while the now-married couple were broken up. Thankfully, the two patched things up.