Demi Lovato Explains The Drastic Lengths Her Team Went To Control Her Eating Disorder

Demi Lovato is often viewed as the people’s champion. Fans around the world root for her to win big time as she’s been so open about her struggles with addiction and self-esteem – yet always finds the time to pour her heart into helping others.

As she journeys on a renewed sense of freedom and sobriety, she’s sharing what she’s learned along the way. In the promotion of her new single “I Love Me,” Lovato spoke to Ellen Degeneres about how her former team’s drastic measures to control her eating disorder helped her realize that she had to be in the driver’s seat of her own path. 

Demi Lovato tells Ellen DeGeneres that her team hid food from her

Lovato stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote her new album and talked about how her songs are inspired by the events leading up to and post her relapse last year. She spoke candidly about the history of her addiction, which she says started with an eating disorder. She became sober at the age of 19 and went into overdrive to ensure that she remained on a sober path. 

Unfortunately, she says that as time went on, her management and sobriety team increased their surveillance of her eating habits that eventually became too controlling and drastic for her. DeGeneres revealed to Lovato that whenever Lovato would visit her show, DeGeneres’s staff were informed by Lovato’s team to hide any food, beverages or snacks that contained sugar.

Lovato admits that until she spoke with DeGeneres, she was unaware of her former team’s habit. She also revealed that their control extended beyond her interview appearances.

“If I was in my hotel room at night, they would take the phone out of my room so that I couldn’t order room service,” she said. “If there was fruit in my room they would take it out because that’s extra sugar. We’re not talking about brownies, cookies or candies – we are talking about fruit. For many years I didn’t even have a birthday cake, I had a watermelon cake where you cut your watermelon into the shape of the cake and then you put fat-free whipped cream on top and that was your cake.”

Lovato says that after being controlled for so long, she realized that she needed to take matters into her own hands moving forward. 

How is Demi Lovato doing today with her eating disorder?

Lovato admitted to DeGeneres that she asked her team for help leading up to her near-fatal overdose but was told that she was “selfish” and “unappreciative” of their work. She felt abandoned, a feeling she’d struggled with most of her life due to her father’s absence, which led her on a downward spiral. After her hospital stay and treatment at a rehabilitation facility, she fired her entire team and replaced them with a new and more supportive staff.

Lovato also revealed that for the first time in almost seven years, she finally had the birthday cake that she desired.

“This year when I turned 27, you know I have a new team and Scooter Braun and my manager gave me the best birthday cake,” she said. “I just remember crying became 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.”

Lovato says she also takes time out to rest, focuses more on self-care and appreciates the smaller things this time around while focusing on her sobriety. She will continue to share her journey as a way to help others who are dealing with the same issues.