How Demi Lovato’s Broken Engagement Helped Singer Embrace Their ‘Most Authentic Self’
“In hindsight, the dissolvement of that relationship was actually probably the best thing that’s happened to me because of what that led inside of myself,” they said during the virtual summit. “…I was able to stand on my own two feet without needing someone else to validate me or to feel accepted. When I said goodbye to that relationship, I also said goodbye to everything that was holding me back from being my most authentic self. I really started to identify with close friends and family as non-binary toward the end of last year. It was the dissolvement of all those things that had held me back from identifying as the person I do today.”
Lovato previously discussed this on the April 2021 cover of Glamour, saying that after the singer and Ehrich ended their engagement, Lovato started to embrace their queer identity. “When I started getting older, I started realizing how queer I really am,” Lovato told Glamour. “This past year I was engaged to a man, and when it didn’t work, I was like, This is a huge sign. I thought I was going to spend my life with someone. Now that I wasn’t going to, I felt this sense of relief that I could live my truth.”
Working with fellow non-binary pop star Sam Smith was also an “aha” moment for Lovato. After recording their Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit “I’m Ready,” Lovato asked Smith questions about identity.
“I started asking them questions on being non-binary and gender non-conforming, what that was, and they said, ‘Why don’t you come to this poetry show with me? My friend is performing.’ And it was Alok Vaid-Menon, who we all know and love. And it was when they were speaking on the stage that I had tears coming down my face, I was belly laughing to where they could hear me from the stage, although I was in the front row…. I had that ‘aha’ moment and that changed everything for me,” Lovato said.
Watch Lovato’s speech during The 19th Represents 2021 Virtual Summit around the two-hour, 34-minute mark below.