Demi Lovato Speaks Out About An Eating Disorder Relapse Over The Summer
"There are issues that I haven't conquered yet that I know I won't conquer if I'm relying on somebody else to take care of the loneliness"
In case you missed it, Demi Lovato is back with brand new documentary Simply Complicated that explores her ongoing journey to sobriety and health, both physical and mental.
And being Demi, she is using it to be extremely candid and honest with fans about her ups and downs, including opening up about a recent relapse with bulimia.
Check out the latest from MTV News below...
While Demi's been sober from drugs and alcohol for nearly five years, something she is still consistently working on is managing her eating disorder.
Opening up about her struggle to manage this during the documentary, Demi explains that to this day she has a complicated relationship with food, saying: "It's so weird to talk about this on camera. I relapsed with throwing up, binging, and purging a couple nights ago.
"The less I have to think about food, the easier it is for me to go about having a normal life. I don't want to let anybody down so when I do have moments where I slip up, I feel very ashamed."
Although Demi went for a long time without falling back into this behaviour, she went on to explain that it was after breaking up with longterm boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama that she was triggered to fall back into the cycle of binging and purging.
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"What started the relapse [this time] was missing Wilmer," she says in the documentary. "That's one of the reasons why we broke up — was because I've never been alone. When I was in a relationship with Wilmer, I went three years without purging.
"He was just my rock. My everything. [Breaking up] had nothing to do with falling out of love. We decided together that we're just probably better as friends."
Demi goes on to explain that she felt like she was becoming too dependent on Wilmer and it meant she wasn't truly dealing with her own underlying issues.
"The sparks never faded," she continues. "But there are issues that I haven't conquered yet that I know I won't conquer if I'm relying on somebody else to take care of the loneliness. I just wasn't ready and there was so much in my life that I hadn't explored yet."
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Unfortunately it's been an extremely tough transition and while she's working hard on dealing with things now, there are still ups and down.
"When we broke up, [binging and purging was] one of the first things I did," Demi added. "When I feel lonely, my heart feels hungry and then I end up binging and I don't know how to figure out how to be alone."
Also posting on her Instagram Stories, Demi has now shared a shocking before and after photo that shows her at the height of her bulimia compared to a picture of how she looks now, which she captioned: 'Recovery is possible.'
Want more info about eating disorders? Check this out.