Demi Lovato reveals she first used opiates at age 13 as ‘escape’ from bullying

Demi Lovato got candid about using opiates and drinking alcohol at a young age of 13 after getting into a car accident while trying to find an “escape” from bullying.

During an interview with Call Her Daddy podcast, the Confident singer, 30, recounted the first time she was introduced with drugs during early years of teenage.

“I started experimenting for the first time when I was 12, or 13,” the pop star told host Alexandra Cooper. “I got into a car accident and they prescribed me opiates.”

“My mom didn’t think she would have to lock up the opiates from her 13-year-old daughter but I was already drinking at that point,” Lovato added. “I had been bullied and was looking for an escape.

The singer, who recently resumed using she/her pronouns, went on to reveal that her mother took away the pills and "locked them up" after she saw how many pills Lovato had already consumed.

Lovato said she “drank a lot” during her teenage while adding that the first time she drank alcohol, the singer was “alone.”

The Disney alum even stole stole beer from her stepdad's refrigerator, saying that the incident "should have been a major red flag."

"At 17, it was the first time I tried coke and, like, loved it too much and then kinda bled into me going to treatment right after I turned 18," she revealed.

Lovato then received the help she needed, sharing that her team was "really supportive" during that period because it had been a "long time coming."

The singer suffered three strokes and a heart attack as a result of a near-fatal drug overdose in 2018, following which she landed in rehab and got out in 2021.

Lovato tried to maintain a “California sober” lifestyle after the incident as she continued to drank alcohol and smoked weed but in moderation.

However, Lovato later announced that she “no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways” three years later in 2021, adding, “Sober sober is the only way to be.”