Demi Lovato's mother has opened up about her daughter's suspected overdose

'It was just something I never expected to hear as a parent about any of my kids.'

It’s been a harrowing couple of months for the Lovato family, following reports that Demi Lovato had been admitted to hospital for a suspected drug overdose. The singer, who has always been very open about her battle with addiction, was previously sober for six years according to the BBC before her suspected relapse and her mother opened up for the first time about the terrible day she found out about Demi’s condition.

Demi’s mother, Dianna de la Garza, went on Newsmax TV in order to raise awareness about America’s opioid crisis and talked about her daughter’s battle with her blessing. She told the story of the day she found out Demi had been hospitalised, saying, ‘It’s still a really difficult thing to talk about. I literally start to shake a little bit when I start to think about what happened that day.’

It turns out that Dianna was one of the last people to know, as she had no idea that anything had happened to Demi before TMZ broke the story. After that, her phone started blowing up with people sending well wishes, prayers and messages of support - however it wasn’t until somebody from Demi’s team called her to explain the situation that she finally understood what was going on.

‘The next words that came out of [Demi’s assistant’s] mouth [were] words that are just so difficult to hear as a parent. She said, ‘Demi overdosed.’ So I was in shock, I didn’t know what to say. It was just something I never expected to hear as a parent about any of my kids.’

‘And I hesitated to ask, but I had to ask her,’ she continued, ‘I just remember it seemed like the words took so long to get out of my mouth. I said, ‘Is she okay?’ And [her assistant] stopped for a second and she said, ‘She’s conscious, but she’s not talking.’ And so I knew at that point, we were in trouble.’

Demi was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and BBC reported that she had been treated with naloxone, an anti-opioid medication. Her spokesperson released a statement on July 25, revealing she was awake and thanked fans for their support. Dianna also revealed in the interview that for two days, they didn't know 'if she was gonna make it or not'.

Dianna spoke of the moment she saw her daughter for the first time and said, ‘[My daughter Dallas and I] got there as quickly as we could...we ran into the emergency room to be by her side and [Demi] just didn’t look good at all. She was in bad shape.’

‘I said to her, ‘Demi, I’m here. I love you.’ And at that point, she said back to me, ‘I love you too.’ So at that point, from that point on, I never allowed myself to ever think things weren’t going to be okay,’ Dianna finished.

Since recovering from the incident, Demi took to Instagram to post a heartbreakingly honest message to her fans about her addiction and also to thank those who stood by her. She began the note, ‘I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. 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.’

Demi revealed that she had broken her sobriety in a song called Sober, which came as a surprise to many. In a devastating chorus, she revealed she had relapsed in the lyrics, ‘To the ones who never left me, we’ve been down this road before. I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore.’

She said, ‘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.’

‘I look forward to the day where I can say i came out on the other side,’ she finished.

We’re sending all our love to Demi and her family during this difficult time.