Demi Lovato Shares Renewed Struggle With Eating Disorder

During an appearance on the podcast Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham, Demi Lovato got real about her battle with her eating disorder and her journey to embracing herself.

Lovato, 25, explained how she wrongly thought she was in recovery from an eating disorder when she became fixated on “extreme dieting” and over-exercising. “I thought the past few years was recovery from an eating disorder, when it actually was just completely falling into it,” she said in the interview. “Maybe my symptoms weren’t as obvious as before, but it was definitely an eating issue.” Lovato says she worked out three times a day and wished someone had been there to tell her to slow down.

Lovato was treated for bulimia in 2010 and said in 2014 that she nearly returned to rehab for eating issues. Lovato said she thought she was helping her recovery from an eating disorder and substance abuse issues by throwing herself into workouts.

“I think when you have certain people around you that are telling you certain things, that you should look a certain way, it makes it harder,” the star said. “I was just in that situation, and I was just running myself into the ground.”

“I honestly think that’s what led to everything happening over the past year, was just me thinking I found recovery when I didn’t and then living this lie and trying to tell the world I was happy with myself when I really wasn’t,” she added.

Lovato was hospitalized for an overdose in July 2018. She performed for the first time since the incident at the Grammys in January, and sang the national anthem at Super Bowl LIV this month.

Lovato showed off a new tattoo on Instagram this month that signifies her “spiritual awakening.” She will host a new talk show for Quibi, a short-form streaming service that debuts in April.