How Rehab Led Demi Lovato to a Surprising Love Story

Transparency is central to Demi Lovato's brand, much like body positivity and fresh-faced, freckled selfies. 

From the moment the former Disney star came clean about what had led to her decision to seek treatment in 2010—a debilitating combination of addiction issues, an eating disorder, a bipolar diagnosis and self-harm—no detail was too embarrassing to withhold in her ongoing efforts to let others dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse know they're not alone. When she let six years of hard-earned sobriety slip from her grasp earlier this year, not only did she admit as much to her fans, she wrote a whole song centered around her disappointment. 



"The reason why I became so open about my story is because I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help and I want them to know that it's OK," she told the crowd at a March tour stop in NYC. "Mental health is something that we all need to talk about and we need to take the stigma away from it. So let's raise the awareness. Let's let everybody know it's OK to have a mental illness and addiction problem."

So when her relapse led to a late July overdose at her Hollywood Hills, Calif. mansion, you better believe she was going to be open about it with her fans. 

"What I've learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet," she wrote in a message weeks later to the nearly 71 million Lovatics that follow her on Instagram. "I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery," added the star, at the time still receiving treatment from the team of professionals at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. "The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting." 

And now she's found herself a comrade in arms. The 26-year-old pop star's growing bond with sober companion Henry Levy, 27, has officially made the transition to romance, as evidenced by the pair's shared kiss outside Malibu's Nobu Saturday night. "Demi enjoys spending time with Henry because he is so supportive of her sobriety," an insider explains to E! News. "They have a deep connection because he has struggled too and is sober himself. She feels safe with him and like she can be herself." 





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