Demi Lovato 'took a while' to come out to her parents - but they already knew
Singer Demi Lovato wanted to create a safe space before coming out to her parents.
Demi Lovato "took a while" to come out to her parents because of her family's Christian faith.
The 'Confident' singer - who decided to readopt she/her pronouns because explaining they/them to people was "exhausting" - waited until she was "comfortable" to tell her mother she was bisexual, which was when she was 25, before realising she is pansexual, someone who is attracted to all people, no matter their gender or gender identity.
The 30-year-old star told SiriusXM: "I came from a Christian background and grew up queer and didn't tell people until I felt comfortable with it.
"It took me until I was 25 to come out to my mom. At the time I was bisexual and then I realised I was pansexual. It took me a while."
Her stepfather, Eddie De La Garza, was the first parent she told but he'd already guessed from her 2015 hit 'Cool for the Summer', which includes the lyric: "Got a taste for the cherry I just need to take a bite."
She continued: "I released 'Cool for the Summer' before I came out to my parents.
"It's, like, very obvious, but I didn't feel like I was ready.
"One day I was about to go to a show. I was sitting on a plane and I was with my stepdad, who's basically my dad, and I was like, 'Hey, I need to tell you something.' I was like, 'I like girls too.' And he was like, 'Yeah, I know. You have 'Cool for the Summer' out.'"
And her mom, Dianna De La Garza, had a similar response.
Demi recalled: "I was getting ready to go on a date with a girl, and I didn't know if I would be photographed or what would happen and I really liked this girl. I was like, 'I think it's time to tell my mom in case it becomes serious.'
"I sat my mom down and I was like, 'I need to talk to you.' I said, 'I am about to go on a date with a girl and I just wanted you to know and hear it from me that I do like girls too.' She just almost started crying and was like, 'I just want you to be happy.'"
Demi was fortunate with her mom's response as she says, "There are so many parents that don't respond that way and it breaks my heart."
Ever since she came out publicly, she's wanted to use her huge platform to shout out about equality for the LGBTQ+ community.
The singer added: "Providing that energy and being a part of the community is so important to me, and providing a safe space is so important too. "That's why I post on social media all the time about being queer and what it means. Things that are in the public eye, what's going on, current events, I post about it because it's really important to me."
