Is Demi Lovato Sober? She Seems to Be in a Much Better Place

After watching the trailer for Dancing With the Devil, fans are concerned for Demi and hope that she’s sober now, after all she’s gone through. While Demi hasn’t publicly opened up about relapsing, she’s stated how she’s in a much healthier place now that she’s being managed by Scooter Braun. From what it sounds like, Demi broke her sobriety because the team that previously managed her were suppressing her emotional (and physical) needs.

Unfortunately, while her team monitored any drug usage, they also kept a close eye on what Demi was eating (she’s had an eating disorder since she was young), and that created an extremely unhealthy dynamic. “I realized that over time as the things with [my] eating disorder were getting bad … it progressively got worse and worse with people [on my team] checking what my orders at Starbucks were on my bank statements,” Demi said.

Demi added, “Just little things like that led me to being really, really unhappy. My bulimia got really bad [again] and I asked for help and I didn’t receive the help that I needed. So I was stuck in this unhappy position. Here I am sober and I’m thinking to myself: I’m six years sober, but I’m miserable. I’m even more miserable than I was when I was drinking. Why am I sober?”

According to Demi, her team told her that she was being “selfish” when she reached out for help. She was told that if she broke her sobriety, it would “ruin things for not just you but for us as well.”

Demi ultimately felt controlled. “My life, I just felt it was so — and I hate to use this word — but I felt it was controlled by so many people around me. If I was in a hotel room at night, they would take the phone out of my room so I couldn’t call room service — or if there was fruit in my room they would take it out because that’s extra sugar. We’re not talking about brownies … it was fruit,” she explained.

Under Scooter’s management team, they supported her needs and wants, and she now seems to have a much better relationship with food. “I just remember crying because I was finally eating cake with a manager that didn’t need anything from me and that loved me for who I am and supported my journey. I think at some point it becomes dangerous to try to control someone’s food when they’re in recovery from an eating disorder,” Demi said. 

It was never disclosed what Demi overdosed on, but we do know that she was given Narcan, which helps revive people who have overdosed on a type of opiate (there are many kinds, including fentanyl and heroin). Although it was first reported that Demi overdosed on heroin, a source later refuted that claim. In the documentary, one person being interviewed did mention heroin, but again, it’s unclear if that’s what Demi was using and/or overdosed on.

While it seems like Demi is sober now, the journey to sobriety is a complex one, and it’s not uncommon that people relapse. What’s important is that they get the help, support, and love they deserve from their friends, family, and community. 

Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil premieres on March 23 on YouTube Originals.

If you or someone you know needs help, use SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to find support for mental health and substance use disorders in your area: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov, or call 1-800-662-4357 for 24-hour assistance.