Danielle Farina 
The weekend of April 10th isn’t particularly notable here in New Jersey (aside from fun local happenings), but over on the other side of the country, in sunny California, Coachella weekend 1 is officially underway. For the first time in his career, Justin Bieber is headlining the 2026 music festival, marking his first major performance since stepping back from music to focus on his mental health. The whole thing is already rife with nostalgia (typing this from a purple zip-up hoodie, obviously), so we figured we’d hop on the memory train to revisit when Biebs paid a visit to Hoboken in 2019. Keep reading to learn more about Justin Bieber’s Hoboken visit in 2019. Plus, a fun little prank played by HG shortly after.
The Details
In our year 2026, celebrity sightings in Hoboken are a pretty regular occurrence, thanks in large part to the statewide efforts to establish New Jersey as a film industry hub. But in 2019, a visit from an A-Lister felt a lot more novel, especially when said star was of Justin Bieber’s stature.
So why was he here? We’ll let our 2019 article do the talking.
You’ve probably heard by now that Justin Bieber was in Hoboken on Friday. The reason? He’s taken up boxing — at none other than Hoboken’s UFC Gym on the waterfront. He had a private 2-hour session with Rich Van Houten, according to a staff member at the gym. His wife, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) was with him watching the workout. The two tried to avoid paps, but our readers were too quick for them (shoutout to Amanda for sharing these photos)! Word on the street is he’ll be back soon, as this was his first boxing session with Rich, but he’s looking to work out here routinely. Guess who just got a new gym membership at UFC…
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The UFC gym at the waterfront has since closed, but the memory of Justin and Hailey’s visit remains in our hearts forever. In fact, we were so moved by it, that just a few months later, we had a bit of April Fool’s fun.
On April 1st, 2019, we shared an article titled, plainly, “Justin Bieber Is Moving To Hoboken.” The prank cited the UFC visit directly, stating that Justin and Hailey decided to make the Hoboken gym their neighborhood gym. An excerpt, just for good fun.
Sources say the two “had been in talks for a while, but they finally signed the papers and should be moving in soon.” These recent developments are compounded by paparazzi photos of the Biebs running on the riverfront. While no word from Camp Bieber, all evidence suggests the move is inevitable.
Sadly (or not, depending on the temp of your Bieber fever), it was just a prank and a good one at that. And though our Bieber coverage has slowed, our April Fool’s trickery has not, as evidenced by this year’s selection of spoofy headlines.
We’re wishing Justin Bieber good luck at his Coachella performance this weekend. Break a leg (as long as it didn’t happen at a Hoboken gym)!
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