Demi Lovato Talks Candidly About Her Relapse and Getting Sober

Demi Lovato isn’t shying away from speaking about the long and difficult road to sobriety.

In a recent interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lovato opened up about her relapse after six years of sobriety, how she recovered, and what we can expect from her new music.

“I have to preface it with the fact that I got sober at 19. So I got sober at an age where I wasn’t even legally allowed to drink,” Lovato began. “I got the help that I needed at the time, and I took on the approach of a one-size-fits-all solution, which is sobriety, just sobriety. My whole team took that approach, and we did it, and we ran with it, and it worked for a long time.”

However, dealing with her eating disorder while staying sober added complications. “Over the years, it progressively got worse and worse, with people checking what my orders at Starbucks were on my bank statements,” she continued. “Just little things like that, it led me to being really, really unhappy. My bulimia got really bad, and I asked for help, and I didn’t receive the help that I needed. And so I was stuck in this unhappy position. And here I am sober, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’m six years sober, but I’m miserable. I’m even more miserable than I was when I was drinking. Why am I sober?'”

After sending a message to her team, Lovato said she recalls them telling her that she would be “selfish” and “ruin[ing] things” if she started drinking again.

“When I heard that—my core issues are abandonment from my birth father as a child. He was an addict, alcoholic. We had to leave him, and I have vivid memories of him leaving,” divulged the singer. “So when they left, they totally played on that fear, and I felt completely abandoned. So I drank. And that night I went to a party, and there was other stuff there. And it was only three months before I ended up at the hospital with an OD.”

Lovato added that taking responsibility for her own actions was the first step to recovering. “Ultimately, I made the decisions that got me into where I am today. It was my actions that put me in the position that I’m in,” she said. “I think it’s important that I sit here on this stage and tell you at home or you in the audience or you right here that if you do go through this, you yourself can get through it. You can get to the other side, and it may be bumpy, but you are a 10 out of 10. Don’t forget it. As long as you take the responsibility, you can move past it and learn to love yourself the way you deserve to be loved.”

Lovato and DeGeneres also touched on her new music. The first single from her new album drops tomorrow.

“This song is fun and lighthearted, and it’s got a positive, upbeat message,” Lovato said of “I Love Me.” “There are songs on the album that are ugly, honest, and heavy, and will make you cry and will take you there. But I’m so excited.”

If you or a loved one is seeking help for substance abuse disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). For more resources, visit the website.

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