After facing her struggles with an eating disorder and cutting, Demi Lovato is candidly speaking out about her road to recovery.
“I feel amazing. I feel really happy and healthy,” the 19-year-old told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Wednesday’s Access Hollywood Live. “Life is beautiful and I can’t complain.”
Demi is hoping her openness helps others who might be struggling with the same demons.
“I feel a lot better and I feel like now that I’m able to speak about it, I’m able to help younger girls with their issues they’re dealing with and that makes me feel like a role model,” she explained. “That makes me feel like an inspiration more than I did when I was hiding those issues.”
The “Skyscraper” singer credits her decision to seek out treatment for keeping her alive.
“The breaking point for me was, I was just tired, I was out of the country and I was away from my family, things had just built up to a point. I was unhealthy,” she said, referring to leaving the Jonas Brothers tour in 2010. “When you’re putting on concerts and you’re not eating, you know, that will take a toll on you, and it did and I snapped and I regret it to this day… I made a really poor decision and it landed me in treatment. Treatment was the best decision that I ever made and it saved my life.”
Looking back, the young star now realizes how her struggles were affecting those around her.
“There is a certain point where you learn it’s taking a toll on your entire family, and your career and everything in your life and it’s jeopardizing so much that you have to get help,” she told Billy and Kit.
At the height of her eating disorder, Demi revealed that she was making herself vomit over five times a day.
“I think at the worst it was a little more than that,” she said. “I was just so sick. I thought that orange juice was going to make me fat.”
Now healthy and happy – with a hit new album, “Unbroken,” and an upcoming tour (kicking off November 16 in Detroit) — Demi said she’s not afraid to rely on others for help at times.
“I have a huge support system and one of the best people in my life is actually my manager,” she explained.
Demi also includes longtime friend Selena Gomez in her circle of support, a friend who got emotional when she reached out to Demi while she was in treatment.
“I think I was out of tears at that point… [Selena] called me and she was crying, she was like, ‘Hello.’ I’m like, ‘Why are you crying? I’m the one in treatment – like, I should be crying,’” Demi recalled. “She’s definitely one of my closest friends and no matter what, we’ll always be close as sisters. We met 12 years ago, that’s more than half of my life.”
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