Demi Lovato opens up about what led to her relapse in 2018 and her new approach to body acceptance

Demi Lovato isn’t willing to compromise her sanity for the sake of looking good. The Anyone singer appeared on Ashley Graham’s Pretty Big Deal podcast and opened up about how she arrived at the latest chapter of her life – following falling back into unhealthy habits. “I’m tired of running myself into the ground with workouts and extreme dieting,” she said. “I thought the past two years were recovery from and eating disorder when it was actually completely falling into it. I just realized maybe my symptoms weren’t as obvious as before but it was definitely an eating issue.”

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Demi, 27, shared that slipping into her unhealthy fitness habits was a major contribution to her relapse with her eating disorder and the run up to her overdose in 2018. “I honestly think that’s what led to everything happening over the past year,” the Confident singer shared. “Me thinking I found recovery when I didn’t and then living this kind of lie and trying to tell the world I was happy with myself when I really wasn’t.”

Today, Demi has made the choice to live her truth. The Tell Me You Love Me singer shared that this time around, healthiness takes precedence over what people believe is the “ideal” way to look. “When I present this album, I’m not going to go in worried about what I look like. I’m not going to go in looking a certain way or trying to carry a certain mold or whatever that’s just not who I am,” she said.

“Someone has to stand up for people who don’t naturally look that way. That led me only one-way and I don’t want to go that way to look a certain way.” She continued: “I’m not willing to destroy my mental health to look a certain way anymore.” Now, Demi takes a different approach to embracing her body.

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“I don’t think it’s much about body positivity as it is body acceptance,” she said. “Now when I look in the mirror and I start to have negative thought, I don’t stop and go ‘No you’re beautiful. You’re gorgeous. I love you the way you are.’ What I say to myself is ‘Nope you’re healthy and I accept you.’ So you express gratitude in the health and you accept the reality instead of convincing yourself of something you don’t believe.”