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

Disney Channel alum scored her first acting gig when she was six years old

Demi Lovato has revealed she was the “breadwinner” of her family, supporting her mother and stepfather financially at a young age.

Ahead of the release of her new Hulu documentary, Child Star, which also marks her directorial debut, the former Disney Channel star spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her journey as an actor turned singer-songwriter. At age six, Lovato was cast in the children’s television favorite Barney and Friends, alongside Selena Gomez, earning money she would immediately give to her parents.

“Having the child be the breadwinner almost inherently changes the dynamic of a family,” the Princess Protection Program lead told the outlet in an interview published August 14. “And then it becomes, like, how do you discipline that breadwinner?”

In 1994, Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, split from her biological father, Patrick Lovato – who the artist openly identified as an “abuser” and drug addict after he passed away in 2013. “I was very conflicted when he passed, because he was abusive,” Lovato confessed in a 2015 YouTube video. “He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person.”

Dianna married Eddie De La Garza in 1995. While the musician was living under the supervision of her mother and stepfather, she admitted that she was “paying the bills” for them.

Lovato told The Hollywood Reporter: “I mean, 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?”

However, Lovato explained that she hasn’t carried any resentment into her relationship with her mother today. The “Heart Attack” performer is ready to share the intimate, hard-hitting story of Child Star – an introspective dive into the realities of being a young actor through first-person interviews with fellow child stars Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, and Kenan Thompson.

Beyond the documentary, which hits Hulu on September 17, Lovato is planning for her future with fiancé Jordan Lutes, professionally known as “Jutes.” Following their engagement in December 2023, the couple is taking time with their wedding planning. However, Lovato has already considered how she’d raise her daughter.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter how she’d respond if her future daughter wanted to follow in her footsteps, the “Confident” singer said she’d tell her: “‘Let’s study music theory and prepare you for the day you turn 18, because it’s not happening before that. 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.’

“‘And also, let’s come up with a backup plan,’ which is something I wish I’d done because sometimes I think it’s time for me to move on, but I’m in this weird position in my career because I still rely on music for my income,” Lovato added.