Demi Lovato reveals she was the family ‘breadwinner’ as a child

Demi Lovato has opened up about being the financial backbone of her family from a young age. In anticipation of her new Hulu documentary, *Child Star*, where she makes her directorial debut, the former Disney Channel star spoke with *The Hollywood Reporter* about her journey from childhood actress to singer-songwriter.

At just six years old, Lovato was cast in the children’s TV show *Barney and Friends*, alongside Selena Gomez. The money she earned went straight to her parents. “Having the child be the breadwinner almost inherently changes the dynamic of a family,” Lovato explained. “And then it becomes, like, how do you discipline that breadwinner?”

Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, divorced her biological father, Patrick Lovato, in 1994. After his passing in 2013, Lovato described him as an “abuser” and drug addict in a 2015 YouTube video, sharing her conflicted emotions about his death.

Dianna remarried Eddie De La Garza in 1995. Despite being under her mother and stepfather’s guardianship, Lovato confessed that she was the one “paying the bills.”

Reflecting on those times, Lovato said, “They’d try to ground me, but I was an egotistical child star, and I thought I was on top of the world. I’d be like, ‘But I pay the bills,’ and what do you say to that?”

Despite these challenges, Lovato bears no resentment towards her mother today. The “Heart Attack” singer is set to reveal her intimate, hard-hitting story in *Child Star*, which includes interviews with fellow former child stars Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, and Kenan Thompson.

The documentary premieres on Hulu on September 17, but Lovato is also looking ahead to her future with her fiancé, Jordan Lutes, known professionally as “Jutes.” The couple, who got engaged in December 2023, is taking their time with wedding planning. Lovato has already thought about how she would raise her future daughter.

When asked how she’d react if her daughter wanted to follow in her footsteps, Lovato said she’d encourage her to study music theory and wait until she turned 18. “Not because I don’t believe in you or love you or want you to be happy, but because I want you to have a childhood, the childhood that I didn’t have.”

She also emphasized the importance of having a backup plan, something she wishes she had. “I’m in this weird position in my career because I still rely on music for my income,” Lovato added.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter