In May, Hailey Baldwin Bieber sold Rhode, her beauty company, for a hefty price. People have run the numbers and it’s likely that she’s taking home as much as a quarter of the $1 billion sale. Soon after the sale, the gossip mood shifted around Hailey and Justin Bieber’s marriage. Granted, there were always rumors that Justin and Hailey were going to split, but post-sale, there was a vibe-change of “well, now Hailey has enough money to walk away from the marriage, if that’s what she wants.” She hasn’t done that though. This summer, she and Justin have stepped out together a few times, but Hailey has been going out solo or with friends a lot of the time. She seems free and happy… and still married. So was there ever marriage drama? I believe there was, but it sounds like they’ve weathered the storm.

Rumors that Justin and Hailey Bieber‘s relationship was on the rocks ran rampant earlier this year while he was recording his new album, Swag, but since its surprise July 11 release, the “tension has settled,” a source close to the couple exclusively tells Us Weekly.

“The intense focus and emotional toll of creating new music had put a strain on their marriage,” the source says. “When Justin is in the studio making new music, he gets completely consumed and shuts everything else out.”

Now that the project has dropped — and achieved critical and commercial success, with 16 of its 21 tracks debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — the source shares that Justin, 31, and Hailey, 28, “have been able to finally reconnect more” on a summer vacation to “their favorite place in Idaho” with their son, Jack Blues, who will celebrate his 1st birthday on Friday, August 22.

“There’s a sense of relief on both sides,” the source tells Us. “Justin’s behavior has been more relaxed. He felt a lot of pressure hanging over him and has been in a better mental headspace these last few weeks. He is very happy there have been positive reviews of the album and that fans like it.”

Hailey, for her part, “takes it day by day and is very patient” with her husband of nearly seven years, according to the source.

“There’s still work to be done in their marriage,” the source acknowledges, “but they’re in a much better place.”

[From Us Weekly]

I said a few months ago that I believed the reports that Hailey is “the stable parent” and the one keeping their family together. I hate that she’s in that position, as “caretaker” to a baby and a man-baby. While I’ll defend Justin on some things – I think his former team certainly has their knives out for him – I can’t defend how he treats Hailey. I really hope that he figures out that one day, she’s going to stop making the effort to keep this marriage together.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.