Demi Lovato Talks About Conflicted Emotions Over Her Abusive Father’s Death [Video]
Demi Lovato is finally opening up about her father’s death. Lovato’s father died in 2014 after suffering from cancer for a year. At the time, Lovato did release a statement, despite the fact she was estranged from her father.
That said, now Lovato is talking in depth about her father’s death and how conflicted she was due to her volatile past with him. In an interview on YouTube, Lovato spoke about her new song titled “Father,” which is about, you guessed it– her late father Patrick Lovato. Demi said of the difficult time in her life.
“I was very conflicted when he passed because he was abusive. He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person, and he wanted to have his family. When my mom married my stepdad he still had this huge heart where he would say, ‘I’m so glad Eddie’s taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.'”
Throughout the years, Lovato has been open about her own struggles, most notably her bipolar disorder, which she was diagnosed years ago. She also revealed that her father also struggled from a mental illness, but didn’t disclose which one. That said, Lovato revealed that because of his disease, he couldn’t be the father he wanted to be, and wasn’t around for her when she needed him to be there.
Demi Lovato admits she felt “conflicted” after her father’s death: “He was abusive.” https://t.co/FR43ZdtLVM pic.twitter.com/xa77v9fe3g
— E! Online (@eonline) October 20, 2015
She added, “To know that it wasn’t fully his fault really was saddening to me. I wanted to write about it; I wanted to process it.”
Despite not having her father around during her childhood, Lovato has come through her own struggles with the help of therapy, and touching other people’s lives. Recently Lovato, who also suffered from an eating disorder, posed nude to celebrate her body. This is just one example of how open Lovato is for the sake of advocating self worth and acceptance.
In addition to a healthy lifestyle, Lovato has also maintained a healthy relationship with long time boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama, who she’s been dating since 2010.
Demi Lovato and Wilmer Valderrama are relationship goals pic.twitter.com/iz8kSprw3C
— kelsey (@wildfiredemi__) August 24, 2015
Since Lovato opened up her father fans have come out in droves to support the singer. One YouTube user wrote on the video, “Abusive… I think a part of me didn’t want to believe anything like that actually happened to our sweet little girl… Demi, you’re so strong and so brave to talk about it. We’re always here for you, you know that. I love you <3”
While another said that they were sure her father was proud of her like her fan base is.
As the Inquisitr reported, when Lovato died, the singer took to Twitter to express her sadness, “Today I put my Daddy to rest. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I know great things will come of this.”
In an effort to pay it forward Lovato has started a program called The Lovato Treatment Scholarship program to aid people who can’t afford to treat mental health issues they may have. The program is to help individuals to find the help they need, which includes professional health.
She said that it was her father’s passing that put everything into perspective. At the time she said that she realized her father never got the help he desperately needed, which greatly affected the lack of relationship they had. The program has a partnership with CAST Recovery, which is an outpatient organization that offers therapeutic solutions to those in need.
[Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]
