Demi Opened Up About Her Eating Disorder Relapse In A New Interview

Leave it to Demi Lovato to keep it real time and time again. The always-honest pop star has been an open book about both her eating disorder and the ongoing challenge of trying to maintain a positive body image. But while she's on the road to recovery, she admits she's relapsed in the past. When appearing on Ashley Graham’s podcast, Pretty Big Deal, she shared her truth about her experience with an eating disorder. Demi Lovato's quotes about her eating disorder relapse are incredibly honest.

When chatting with Graham, Lovato revealed how, at one time, she believed she was in recovery, but realized her unhealthy relationship with food had just taken on a different form.

"I'm tired of running myself into the ground with workouts and extreme dieting. I thought the past few years was recovery from an eating disorder when it actually was just completely falling into it," she said, adding that while her symptoms may not have been as obvious, she knows now that it was still an issue.

Lovato explained the people around her weren't always the most helpful in supporting her recovery. "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," she said. "I was in that situation, and I was just running myself into the ground. I honestly think that's kind of what led to everything happening over the past year was just 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."

You can watch a snippet from Lovato's conversation with Graham below.

These days, Lovato is practicing a lot of self love.

"I have a bunch of people that I work with in the recovery aspect of my life, one of them is a dietician, one of them is a therapist," Lovato said in the interview. "Now when I look in the mirror and I start to have a negative thought, I don't stop and say, 'No, you're beautiful, you're gorgeous, I love you, you're perfect the way you are.' Because I don't believe that."

Lovato's full 45-minute interview with Graham is now available on YouTube.

Lovato enjoyed the chat so much she took to Instagram to thank Graham for the opportunity.

"Thank you Ashley for allowing me to really open up about my faith, boundaries, my body acceptance journey, and what my future holds," she wrote. "We had such an honest and real conversation... I can’t wait for you guys to watch and listen."

The meaningful interview comes after Lovato returned to music after taking more than a full year off. She stunned at the 2020 Grammy Awards with a rendition of her new song, "Anyone," and continued to make her way back into the spotlight by singing the National Anthem at the 2020 Super Bowl.

In 2020, Lovato means business when it comes to continuing her self-love journey, and she's starting by sharing her truth.

If you or someone you know has an eating disorder and needs help, call the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at 1-800-931-2237, text 741741, or chat online with a Helpline volunteer here.