Justin Bieber confesses to ‘rebelling a little bit’: ‘I was disappointed in myself’

As he reflected on the past few years, Justin Bieber confessed to “rebelling a little bit.”

“I was getting cockier and cockier,” he said in the June/July cover story for Seventeen. “I didn’t have people to check me. I looked back and I was disappointed in myself.”

Among his several run-ins with the law, Bieber was arrested in January 2014 in Miami after he was allegedly caught drag racing. He was charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and driving with an expired license.

“You have to own up to the mistakes,” he told the mag. “You have to say, I’m sorry if I’ve let you down.”

He did just that during the “Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber,” which aired March 30, after being the butt of the joke for hours.

“I turned a lot of people off over the past few years, but I know I can still turn out good music and turn everything all around,” he said. “I’ve lost some of my best qualities. For that, I am sorry.”

Aside from the Miami arrest, Bieber was also nabbed for public urination and throwing eggs at a neighbor’s house, among other wild antics.

“I always want to be honest and let people know that those mistakes aren’t who I am,” he told Seventeen. “Who I am is someone who really cares about people.”

One of those people could very well be Selena Gomez.

After being in a longtime on-and-off again relationship with the songstress, Bieber and Gomez went their separate ways in 2014, but the attraction has yet to subside despite them both moving on.

The “Boyfriend” singer even commented on how “gorgeous” Gomez looked at the Met Gala in New York City on May 4.

“Selena looked gorgeous at the Met Ball!” he yelled to photogs through a sea of fans swarming his car.

Regardless of whether they ever reconcile, Bieber is more certain about what he wants in a relationship.

“I need healthy relationships with people I can feel safe with,” he said. “People I can say whatever to, and I’m not going to be judged.

“In a girl, I want someone who’s confident in herself and honest,” Bieber added. “I have to find her very attractive and as someone I can see myself with for the rest of my life.”

Until he finds the one, the 21-year-old pop star gets love from his fans through social media while sifting through the haters.

“For a while, I was busy looking at my Instagram likes, and if a post didn’t get a certain amount, I was like, ‘Aw, they don’t like the photo,'” he said. “But there’s always a choice: You can let Instagram or stuff on the Internet affect your day, or you can choose to not be bothered by it.”

zrivera@nydailynews.com