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Tag: Demi Lovato

  • Demi Lovato’s Life After Rehab

    Demi Lovato’s Life After Rehab

    From sober homes to 12-step meetings, the pop star reportedly has a strong post-rehab support system.

    After spending 90 days in an in-patient facility, singer Demi Lovato is adjusting to life after her overdose, utilizing a sober living facility and relying heavily on her ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama for support. 

    TMZ reported that Valderrama regularly visited Lovato throughout her stay in rehab and has been talking with her and visiting since she returned to Los Angeles last week. The pair dated for six years before splitting up in 2016. 

    In 2015 when Lovato was celebrating three years of sobriety, she said that Valderrama had been instrumental to her recovery. 

    “I really wouldn’t be alive today without him,” she said, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

    “He’s loved me the way I never thought I deserved to be loved and with this day marking my 3rd year sober… After sharing my ups, putting up with my downs and supporting my recovery… he still never takes credit and I want the world to know how incredible his soul is,” Lovato wrote at the time. 

    The pair hasn’t been spotted in public, but sources told TMZ that they’ve been talking regularly since Lovato has been home. However, it’s not clear whether their interactions are romantic, especially since Lovato was spotted last week with clothing designer Henry Levy, laughing and holding hands.  

    TMZ also reports that Lovato is splitting her time between a private house and a sober home, where she has access to on-going sobriety support including counselors. She spends three days a week at that house, and spends the remainder of the week at home, easing in to everyday activities like going to the gym. Sources also reported that Lovato is regularly attending 12-step meetings. 

    In addition to the support that Lovato gets at the sober home and from attending meetings, she has a sober coach who is constantly by her side to help her get through the days, TMZ reported. 

    Lovato, who overdosed on pills laced with fentanyl in July, posted on social media after the incident. 

    “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” she wrote. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”  

    She had been silent on social media since then. However, on Tuesday she posted a picture of herself at the ballot box, saying “I am so grateful to be home in time to vote! One vote can make a difference, so make sure your voice is heard! Now go out and vote.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato Is Reportedly Out Of Rehab

    Demi Lovato Is Reportedly Out Of Rehab

    A source claims the pop star is spending time at a sober living facility in Los Angeles.

    Singer Demi Lovato is reportedly out of rehab, having achieved 90 days of sobriety following her near-fatal overdose in July. 

    “She just got back to LA a couple days ago,” a source told PEOPLE. “She seems to be doing well so far.”

    The singer was spotted over the weekend out and about in Los Angeles. On Saturday she was seen at Matsuhisa restaurant in Bev Hills with clothing designer Henry Levy.

    TMZ reports that the pair were smiling and happy, holding hands within the restaurant. 

    According to E! News, a source says that Lovato is “also spending time at a sober living facility, where she has a great support system.”

    The source adds that the singer is “taking it slowly and getting back to life one day at a time. She’s not rushing to figure out where she’s going to live permanently.”

    On July 24, Lovato was found unresponsive in her home, reportedly following a night with her dealer taking “aftermarket” pills. She spend two weeks in the hospital before heading to inpatient treatment at an undisclosed facility.

    Last week, the 26-year-old singer’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, said that Lovato had reached a recovery milestone.

    “She has 90 days,” De La Garza said. “I couldn’t be more thankful or more proud of her because addiction being a disease, it’s work. It’s very hard. It’s not easy, and there are no shortcuts.”

    During the same interview, De La Garza revealed that she knew her daughter’s sobriety was slipping even before she learned about the overdose. 

    “I knew that she wasn’t sober. I didn’t know what she was doing because she doesn’t live with me and she’s 26,” she said. On the day that Lovato was hospitalized, De La Garzo said she received an alarming text that said “I just saw on TMZ and I’m sorry.”

    “Before I could get to TMZ, I got the phone call from her assistant and she said, ‘We’re at the hospital.’ So then I knew, OK, she’s not gone. She’s here,” De La Garzo recalled. “And I said, ‘What’s going on?’ And the words that I heard are just a nightmare for any parent: ‘Demi overdosed.’” 

    Lovato has been open about her struggles with mental illness and substance abuse in the past. However, her social media accounts have been quiet since she posted in August, about her relapse. 

    “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” she wrote. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”  

    She continued, “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato’s Mom Says Singer Is 90 Days Sober

    Demi Lovato’s Mom Says Singer Is 90 Days Sober

    Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, discussed the singer’s early recovery in a recent interview.

    Demi Lovato has been very open with the public about her struggles with sobriety and mental health, and on July 24, she raised serious concern among her fans when she was taken to the hospital for a suspected overdose.

    Now, Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, has announced that her daughter has been sober for 90 days.

    As De La Garza said on Maria Menounos’ Sirius XM show, “She has 90 days. I couldn’t be more thankful or more proud of her because addiction being a disease, it’s work. It’s very hard. It’s not easy, and there are no shortcuts.”

    Menounos asked De La Garza if she knew what triggered her daughter’s relapse. She said, “I can’t really say for sure. I really don’t know. It can be any number of reasons.”

    Before her overdose, Lovato released the single “Sober” in June, where she apologized for falling off the wagon. De La Garza admitted, “I knew that she wasn’t sober. I didn’t know what she was doing because she doesn’t live with me and she’s 26.”

    De La Garza found out about her daughter’s overdose when she received a text that said, “I just saw on TMZ and I’m sorry.”

    “Before I could get to TMZ, I got the phone call from her assistant and she said, ‘We’re at the hospital.’ So then I knew, OK, she’s not gone. She’s here. And I said, ‘What’s going on?’ And the words that I heard are just a nightmare for any parent: ‘Demi overdosed.’”

    When she got a call from her daughter’s assistant confirming the news, “I said, ‘Is she okay?’ And she stopped for a second and said, ‘She’s conscious, but she’s not talking.’ I knew at that point that we were in trouble,” De La Garza told Newsmax TV.

    On August 5, 12 days after her overdose, Lovato released a statement on Instagram telling the public:

    “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet… I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say that I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato’s Sister Says She’s Working Hard At Sobriety

    Demi Lovato’s Sister Says She’s Working Hard At Sobriety

    “We’ve been through a lot together and every single time…we always come out on the other side a 100 times stronger than before.”

    Demi Lovato’s 16-year-old sister said that the star is working hard at her sobriety, 60 days after the singer reportedly started treatment. 

    “She’s working really hard on her sobriety and we’re all so incredibly proud of her,” Madison De La Garza said, according to E! News. De La Garza was being interviewed as part of the promotions for her new movie, Subject 16. During the conversation, she talked about how difficult Lovato’s July overdose was for her family. 

    “It’s been crazy for our family,” she said. “It’s been a lot.”

    De La Garza said that the family is focusing on the positive. 

    “We’ve been through a lot together, and every single time—I mean if you read my mom’s book, you would know—every time we go through something, we always come out on the other side a hundred times stronger than before,” De La Garza said. “So, we’ve just been so thankful for everything—for the little things.”

    De La Garza said that she wants to do “so many little things” with her sister once Lovato leave treatment — including getting frozen yogurt. 

    “It sounds so small, but [I want to] go to Menchie’s,” she said. “Honestly, I’m more of a Pinkberry person, but she likes Menchie’s, and so we usually go there.”

    Lovato is at an undisclosed facility. In early August she released a statement on Instagram, saying, “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”

    She told fans that she would be off the radar while she focuses on recovery. 

    “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery,” she wrote. “The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

    Although Lovato has not made any public statements since then, her family members say that she is doing the necessary work to live sober. 

    “I can honestly say today that she is doing really well,” Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, said in September. “She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s working on her sobriety, and she’s getting the help she needs.”

    De La Garza added that Lovato’s overdose came as a shock, but that the family’s faith helped them cope. 

    “We just didn’t know for two days if she was going to make it or not,” she said. “I just feel like the reason she is alive today is because of the millions and millions of prayers that went up every day.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato's Mother On Overdose: "We Didn't Know If She Was Going to Make It"

    Demi Lovato's Mother On Overdose: "We Didn't Know If She Was Going to Make It"

    “I literally start to shake a little bit when I start to remember what happened.”

    The mother of singer Demi Lovato spoke at length about her daughter’s drug overdose and recovery in an emotional interview for Newsmax TV.

    Dianna De La Garza said that she still finds it difficult to recall the events of the July overdose, which she learned about through phone texts. Though alarmed by her daughter’s condition, she said that her faith provided her with the strength to support Lovato through her hospitalization and subsequent rehabilitation.

    “I can honestly say today that she is doing really well,” she revealed.

    As TMZ reported, paramedics arrived at Lovato’s home in the Hollywood Hills in the early hours of July 24, and found the performer unconscious from an apparent drug overdose. She was treated with the overdose reversal drug Narcan before she was transported to a Los Angeles hospital, where she remained for 12 days before being released and taken to a rehab facility outside of California. 

    In an Instagram statement posted on August 5, the pop star thanked her family and the staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for getting her through the ordeal, as well as her many fans who had expressed their support during her hospitalization. “The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side,” she wrote in her statement.

    In her interview with Newsmax TV, De La Garza said that she still struggles with recalling or talking about the events of July 24. “I literally start to shake a little bit when I start to remember what happened,” she said.

    She said that she found out about her daughter’s condition when texts from individuals expressing their concern began to flood her phone.

    Confused by the outpouring of support, De La Garza said that her mood quickly changed when she received a call from Lovato’s assistant.

    “She said Demi overdosed,” recalled De La Garza. “It was something I never, ever expected to hear as a parent about any of my kids. I said, ‘Is she okay?’ And she stopped for a second and said, ‘She’s conscious, but she’s not talking.’ I knew at that point that we were in trouble.”

    De La Garza said that Lovato was in “bad shape” when she saw her at the hospital, but needed her to know that her family was with her.

    “I said, ‘Demi, I’m here, I love you.’ At that point, she said back to me, ‘I love you too.’ From that point on, I never allowed myself to ever think that things were going to be okay.”

    While Lovato lingered in critical condition, De La Garza turned to her faith to help her dispel worries about Demi’s health.

    “We just didn’t know for two days if she was going to make it or not,” she recalled. But the singer pulled through with the help of the hospital staff and support from her many fans. “I just feel like the reason she is alive today is because of the millions and millions of prayers that went up every day,” said De La Garza.

    Today, as Lovato continues to work on her recovery while in rehabilitation, De La Garza said that her daughter is “doing really well. She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s working on her sobriety, and she’s getting the help she needs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato’s Alleged Dealer Claims She Knew Pills Were Risky

    Demi Lovato’s Alleged Dealer Claims She Knew Pills Were Risky

    Friends of Lovato’s said they became concerned when they learned that the singer had begun spending time with Brandon Johnson in April.

    The man who allegedly provided singer Demi Lovato with the pills that she overdosed on in July said that he warned the singer that the pills were “aftermarket” and that she knew the risks with taking them. 

    Brandon Johnson told TMZ that Lovato texted him at 4 a.m. on the day that she overdosed, asking him to come over. Johnson said that he brought pills over and warned Lovato that they were not pharmaceuticals, so they were likely to be stronger.

    TMZ has previously reported that Lovato’s overdose was likely caused by OxyContin pills laced with fentanyl and that Johnson got the pills from Mexico. 

    Johnson insinuated to TMZ that they had done drugs together in the past and that they had a sexual relationship.

    After freebasing the pills together, Johnson told TMZ that he and Lovato watched true crime TV. When he left around 7 or 8 a.m. Lovato was asleep but not in distress, he said. 

    However, when Lovato’s assistant arrived around 11:30 a.m. the singer was in respiratory distress. Paramedics responded and administered Narcan to the pop star who went on to spend two weeks in the hospital before going to rehab. 

    Johnson said that Lovato’s overdose had made him realize how dangerous the pills can be. He added that the incident was “a wake up call for [Lovato].”

    Friends of Lovato’s have told TMZ that Johnson is “bad news” and that they were worried when they learned that the singer had begun hanging around with him in April.

    Just a month before the two connected, Johnson was reportedly arrested with $10,000, a loaded semi-automatic handgun and drugs. However, it seems to have been common knowledge with the singer’s circle that Johnson was dealing Lovato pills. 

    After her overdose, Lovato took to Instagram to discuss her overdose. 

    “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” she wrote. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”  

    She thanked the hospital that cared for her, and her friends and family. 

    “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato's Backup Dancer Denies Rumor That She Gave Singer Drugs

    Demi Lovato's Backup Dancer Denies Rumor That She Gave Singer Drugs

    Dancer Dani Vitale took to Instagram to refute claims that she provided the singer with the drugs that led to her apparent overdose.

    Dancer Dani Vitale has issued an impassioned statement that pushed back against allegations that she supplied singer Demi Lovato with the drugs that caused her apparent overdose.

    Vitale, who performs with Lovato and described herself as a friend of the singer, shared her thoughts on the overdose and Lovato’s condition on her Instagram page, where she stated that she has “NEVER touched nor even SEEN a drug in [her] entire life,” and added that she did not use drugs, encourage their use or supply them to “anyone I love.”

    Vitale also detailed how the rumors about her alleged involvement in Lovato’s overdose have impacted her life, stating that the “circulation of an UNTRUE story on the internet yanked my life, my reputation and everything I have worked so hard to stand for, out from underneath me.”

    In the post, written on August 16, 2018, Vitale wrote that she was celebrating her birthday with friends on July 23, only to wake up the next morning and discover that Lovato had suffered an overdose.

    “My whole being was ridden with sadness, confusion, love and hopelessness,” she wrote.

    However, Vitale was not prepared for the outpouring of criticism from social media circles, much of which placed the blame for Lovato’s overdose on her. To complicate matters, she claimed that companies with whom she had worked and individuals she considered friends began to distance themselves from her.

    “I wound up not leaving my house nor my bed for three weeks,” she wrote. “Terrified to open a blind or to get out of bed, my house remained just as dark as my mind daily. I thought if I stayed asleep, that was the time I didn’t have to be conscious living in this hell that was being forced upon me. And there were nights I would honestly hope I wouldn’t wake up the next morning so I didn’t have to live through this anymore and it would all go away.”

    Lovato has since recovered from the overdose, and posted a message to fans via Instagram on August 5. “I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond,” she wrote. “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery.” Vitale’s life has also found a degree of stability; though she is again leading dance classes in Los Angeles, but the pain of the social media outburst is clearly still with her.

    “I’m still scared to touch my phone and open it, and trying to resume a ‘normal’ life has been brutally unbearable,” she wrote. “This UNTRUE narrative is damaging innocent people’s lives, mine included. We are so quick to point the finger with little to ZERO facts at all.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Kelly Osbourne Discusses Relapse, Celebrating One Year Sober

    Kelly Osbourne Discusses Relapse, Celebrating One Year Sober

    “To cut a long story short things got really dark. I gave up on everything in my life but most of all I gave up on myself.”

    When Demi Lovato ended up hospitalized last month for an apparent overdose, one celebrity to speak out and support her was Kelly Osbourne. 

    Osbourne has been public in the past about her own battles with substance use, but she only recently spoke out about her own relapse and celebrating one year of sobriety in a post on Instagram.

    “To cut a long story short things got really dark,” she wrote. “I gave up on everything in my life but most of all I gave up on myself. Life on life’s terms became too much for me to handle. The only way I knew how to function was to self-medicate and go from project to project so I never had to focus on what was really going on with me.”

    Osbourne thanked her family for the role they have played in the past year of her sobriety. 

    “I want to take this time to thank my brother @jackosbourne who answered the phone to me one year ago today and picked me up from where I had fallen yet again without judgment,” she wrote. “He has held my hand throughout this whole process. Thank you to my Mum and Dad for never giving up on me.” 

    In 2009, Osbourne spoke to People about her battles, beginning at the age of 13. 

    “I had my tonsils taken out, and they gave me liquid Vicodin,” she told People. “I found, when I take this, people like me. I’m having fun, I’m not getting picked on. It became a confidence thing.” 

    In the next few years, Osbourne says she started seeking out pills from friends and doctors. In 2002, during filming of The Osbournes, she says she was self-medicating every day to manage her anxiety and “not be me.”

    In 2004, People reports, Osbourne’s parents sent her to Promises Treatment Center in Malibu. Then, in 2005, she went to treatment again. For the following three years she lived in London, with what she tells People were high and low points. 

    When she returned to Los Angeles in 2008, Osbourne says she hit an ultimate low and an intense relapse. When her friends and family stepped in and demanded she get help, she says she was relieved. 

    “I knew if I didn’t go, I would die,” she told People. “I thought, ‘Thank God someone’s going to make this pain go away.’”

    While it isn’t clear how long of a stretch of sobriety Osbourne had previous to this relapse, she says she is now content with where she is and where her sobriety stands.

    “I still don’t know who the fuck I am or what the fuck I want but I can wholeheartedly confess that I’m finally at peace with myself and truly starting to understand what true happiness is,” she concluded in her Instagram post. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato Releases First Statement After Overdose Reports

    Demi Lovato Releases First Statement After Overdose Reports

    “This illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”

    After 12 days in the hospital following an apparent overdose, pop star Demi Lovato finally released a statement regarding the incident.

    “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” the 25-year-old recovery advocate said on her Instagram on August 5. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”

    Lovato was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night. She was admitted to the hospital on July 24, after EMTs were called to her Hollywood Hills home. TMZ reported that she was revived with Narcan, the drug that is administered to reverse opioid overdose.

    Lovato has since been recovering from health complications following the reported overdose.

    “I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well,” the singer continued in her recent statement. “To my fans, I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond. Your positive thoughts and prayers have helped me navigate through this difficult time.”

    Lovato has become a prominent voice for the recovery and mental health support community. The singer celebrated six years of sobriety in March, before releasing a new single titled “Sober” in June, in which she apologizes for a recent relapse. 

    “I want to thank my family, my team, and the staff at Cedars-Sinai who have been by my side this entire time. Without them I wouldn’t be here writing this letter to all of you,” Lovato continued.

    A source told People that Lovato will receive “continued care at an in-patient rehab facility.”

    The singer ended her Instagram statement with a promise to continue working on her recovery.

    “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

    Lovato’s impact on mental health and recovery awareness is revealed in a simple search of the social media hashtag #HowDemiHasHelpedMe.

    After news of the singer’s hospitalization, fans have used the hashtag to pay tribute to the positive impact that Lovato’s dedication to reducing the stigma of living with substance use disorder or mental health issues has had on them.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Keith Urban & Other Celebs Offer Demi Lovato Recovery Advice

    Keith Urban & Other Celebs Offer Demi Lovato Recovery Advice

    Kelsey Grammer and Mackenzie Phillips are among the celebs who offered words of encouragement to the pop star.

    Pop star Demi Lovato is expected to make a full recovery after landing in the hospital last Tuesday for an “apparent overdose.” CNN reports from a source close to the singer that the next step will be to enter a recovery program.

    News of Lovato’s apparent overdose was especially striking; as the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer and Disney Channel alum has made a name for herself as a champion of mental health and recovery support. She celebrated six years of sobriety in March.

    Fellow celebs in recovery have offered words of encouragement as the dust settles from last week.

    While appearing on The Today Show in Australia, country singer Keith Urban, who has over a decade of sobriety, shared that it would benefit Lovato to have “good people around her and a willingness to want to live a different way if that’s what she wants to do.” He added, “It’s all up to her.”

    The “Blue Ain’t Your Color” singer spent time at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, California in 2007 for alcohol. “I wish I’d gotten sober many years earlier than I did, but it is what it is,” he said in March.

    Kelsey Grammer, star of the classic sitcom Frasier, could also relate. “Forgive yourself. That’s about it,” he advised Lovato. “Somebody told me a long time ago, a pretty smart guy, [that] ‘Any kind of addiction is really the result of unsolved grief.’ And that has held true for me as I’ve gone through life ever since and that’s why I give that piece of advice.”

    Grammer said last summer that alcohol and drugs were his way to cope with a series of family tragedies, including the murder of his father during a home invasion.

    He was finally able to move on, with the help of the proper treatment. “I just put [that pain] where it is: in the past. But it’s a pain that you can always stumble into again—it’s with you 24/7, especially in the case of tragic death, and there have been a few of those. It’s just a part of life. Maybe I learned a little earlier than most, but it’s just the way it goes.”

    Actress and recovery counselor Mackenzie Phillips also put a word in. “You’re talking about someone’s life. You’re not talking about a breadwinner, you’re talking about a human being who’s struggling with a real, real problem. And so people need to just let her do her thing and get well.”

    View the original article at thefix.com