Selena Gomez just spilled -- and nope, she was not keeping it chill. Her childhood crush? None other than Ice Cube. Yeah, you read that right ... Ice. Cube.

The singer dropped the bomb on Complex’s GOAT Talk with Karol G -- and forget the usual boyband phase ... young Sel was crushin’ hard on the rapper.

Selena admitted it was kinda weird -- she was only 5, but somehow her childhood logic had her thinking Ice Cube would, in her words, "protect her."

But these days, Selena’s got a new bodyguard of the heart -- fiancé Benny Blanco. The two are knee-deep in wedding plans after getting engaged Dec '24.