Demi Lovato Says She Sought Help Before Her 2018 Relapse, But Was Called ‘Selfish’

Demi Lovato is opening up more about the events that led to her 2018 relapse and eventual overdose.

The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and spoke about her battle with addiction. According to Hollywood Life, Lovato has been candid in the past about struggling with eating disorders and how those issues contributed to her eventual drug relapse. Lovato also revealed on Ellen that her team had a great influence on her diving back into drugs after six years of being sober.

“People were checking what my orders were at Starbucks on my bank statement,” Demi said, referring to the way people on her team tried to monitor her weight. “It led to me being really unhappy. My bulimia got really bad, and I asked for help, and I didn’t receive the help that I needed.”

Lovato said the lack of assistance made her feel even more sad about her life. She described her feelings at that time as “miserable.” She also explained that she tried to tell her team how she was feeling, but she was met with a negative reaction.

“I’m even more miserable than when I was drinking. Why am I sober?” Lovato described her emotions at the time. “I reached out to the people on my team and they responded with, ‘You’re being very selfish. This would ruin things for you, and for us, as well.'”

The “Skyscraper” singer said the response from her team gave her familiar feelings of rejection. She stated she felt “totally abandoned” by them and that they weren’t supporting her properly. Lovato said that three months before her overdose, she had begun to drink again and had taken substances at a party. She admitted that the sense of abandonment triggered feelings she had about her father, Patrick Lovato, when she was younger.

Back in 2018, Lovato was hospitalized after overdosing on heroin. The songstress stayed out of the public eye for several months before returning to social media. She is currently on a comeback streak this year after performing at both the Grammys and the Super Bowl. She also has a new single and video in the works. More importantly, Lovato says she has a new team of people around her. While she admits that it was her own actions that led to her relapse, she feels better about the next chapter of her life now that she has a stronger support system by her side.