On June 21, singer and former Disney Channel actress Demi Lovato surprised fans when she released a new song, "Sober," in which she seems to allude to a relapse after struggling to stay clean for the past six years.
While her fans, family and friends applauded her for openly discussing her battle with addiction, they were concerned about her well-being, and rightfully so.
A near-fatal overdose
Just a little over a month after the dropping her candid song, Lovato suffered a serious overdose. While it was initially reported that the singer was treated with Narcan and heroin was to blame, her team later denied that heroin was the cause of the overdose.
Lovato was found unconscious in her home around 11:30 a.m. According to a source close to Lovato, if paramedics had shown up a minute later, "she could have died."
A few days after the terrifying incident, her team released a statement in which they provided an update about Lovato's condition:
Demi is awake and with her family, who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers and support. Some of the information being reported is incorrect and they respectfully ask for privacy and not speculation as her health and recovery is the most important thing right now.
According to TMZ, Lovato was suffering from "complications" that are keeping her in the hospital and making it impossible for her to discuss rehab options at the time.
Breaking her silence
Now, nearly two weeks after her overdose, Lovato herself reassured fans that she is on the road to sobriety when she broke her silence over the weekend. In a brief statement posted to Instagram, Lovato thanked God, the staff at Cedars-Sinai, her friends, family and fans "for all the love and support throughout this past week and beyond."
"I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction," she wrote. "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 continued, "I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. 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."
Lovato's fellow celebrities immediately took to the comments to send their love and support for the "Sorry, Not Sorry" singer.
Hollywood comes together
Jennifer Lopez wrote "oh baby...sending you love," while Paris Hilton commented, "Love you so much sis."
Noah Cyrus, Miley Cyrus's younger sister, also had sweet words to send Lovato's way.
"Love you ma. Thinking of you every day," Cyrus wrote along with a bunch of black heart emojis.
Rapper Macklemore left a heartfelt comment in which he shared his own relapse and recovery.
"Sending love Demi. I've relapsed many times. The recovery community has always welcomed me back with infinite love and support. Always here for you. One day at a time."
Hailey Baldwin, model and Justin Bieber's fiancee showed her support by sending a series of heart emojis, and singer Sam Smith called Lovato a "beautiful woman" who is an "inspiration to millions."
The songstress's fans have since started the hashtag #KeepFightingDemi on social media to show their support.
A history of addiction
Lovato's serious alcohol and cocaine addiction dates all the way back to her days as a Disney star.
"I would smuggle it basically and just wait until everyone in first class would go to sleep and I would do it right there," she said in her memoir. "I'd sneak to the bathroom and I'd do it. That's how difficult it got and that was even with somebody [with me], I had a sober companion, somebody who was watching me 24/7 and living with me [and] I was able to hide it from them as well."
At first, she kept her use of drugs well hidden, but at some point, it started to affect those around her, including her family. She wasn't even allowed to see her younger sister, Desperate Housewives actress Madison De La Garza, until she sought help.
The final [intervention], everyone was like, "˜We are no longer going to leave, we are leaving. That was the moment when I thought, "˜Okay, I really need to get help and get sober.' This time I knew... I had hit rock bottom and I just needed to do this for myself.I knew that I had a lot of life ahead of me but one of the main reasons of getting sober was so that I could be around my little sister because my mom and dad [said I couldn't be around her] if I was doing stuff.
Lovato finally entered rehab to overcome her drug addiction as well as an eating disorder, which she says "was always there," but it worsened when she was "around 8 of 9 years old."
Of course, with everything that has happened over the last few weeks, Lovato has cancelled all her scheduled shows and public appearances.
Lovato's appearance on Jamie Foxx's show Beat Shazam, which was filmed in December, was originally scheduled to air on July 24, but had been replaced with another episode while she's on the mend.
We're wishing Lovato all the best as she embarks on this tough journey to recovery.