Demi Lovato: The young singer's long struggle with fame, drugs and mental health

The singer-songwriter had been vocal about her struggles in the past

Singer songwriter Demi Lovato has reportedly been hospitalised for a reported drug overdose in Los Angeles, according to multiple reports, in a shocking turn of events for a celebrity who had fearlessly fought addiction in the public eye and encouraged her fans to do the same for themselves.

The apparent overdose follows after years in which the 25-year-old star claimed publicly to be clean in spite of the addiction to drugs and alcohol that had haunted her earlier years in the public eye. In March, Lovato announced on Twitter that she had been clean for six years.

“Just officially turned 6 years sober. So grateful for another year of joy, health and happiness. It IS possible,” she wrote in that post.

Lovato, who has been incredibly outspoken about her struggles with addiction, entered rehab at the age of 18 for drugs, self-harm, and an eating disorder — a tumble in a quickly ascendant celebrity career that had her touring with the Jonas Brothers at the time.

She later publicly got clean in 2012, and went on to frame her career and public image as one of triumph over those struggles.

The singer has frequently opened up about her struggles with addiction and mental illness, and used her platform during the 2016 Democratic National Convention to tell that story to millions of Americans who had tuned in to watch one of the biggest spectacles in national politics.

“Like millions of Americans, I am living with mental illness, but I’m lucky,” she said on that Philadelphia stage.

“I had the resources and support to get treatment at a top facility,” she continued.

More recently, in an October documentary titled Simply Complicated, she admitted that she first experimented with cocaine at the age of 17, and that she “loved” it immediately.

“My dad was an addict and an alcoholic. Guess I always searched for what he found in drugs and alcohol because it fulfilled him and he chose that over a family,” she said in the film.

But Lovato also said in that film that her public storyline as a strong and triumphant woman who overcame the difficulties of addiction while staring down the harsh lights of celebrity did not accurately depict the lifestyle she had led in private.

During her time celebrating sobriety on social media and in public, Lovato admitted in the film that she would sneak drugs onto aeroplanes and into bathrooms, and would sit for interviews to discuss that sobriety while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from substance abuse problems, help is available:

UK: NHS drug addiction helpline - 0300 123 6600

US: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - 1-800-662-HELP