Demi Lovato opens up about feeling ‘fooled’ by Max Ehrich relationship

In that dumpster fire year that was 2020, people everywhere unwillingly sped up their relationship timelines. Because when you can’t date or go on group outings, what else is there to do than get to know a significant other even more significantly? Demi Lovato and Max Ehrich were no exception, going from dating, to roommates, to engaged, to exes in basically half a year.

Now, Lovato is baring it all in the wake of her new YouTube documentary, Dancing With the Devil, and the upcoming April 2 release of her accompanying, 19-track album, Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over. While Lovato opens up about Ehrich in both projects (along with her near-death experience, newfound sobriety and two sexual assaults), she also explains some of what was going on with the Young and the Restless star in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.

According to the publication Lovato never actually names Ehrich, but she reveals that becoming engaged was definitely not the right thing for her. “I really had myself fooled, because it was the safe and expected thing," she tells the publication. "Obviously I cared deeply about the person, but there was something inside of me that was like, 'I have to prove to the world that I'm okay.' Now that I'm not engaged or married and I'm okay, I'm like, 'Wow. Isn't that so much more empowering?' It's not this false sense of security."

As fans may recall, Lovato and Ehrich became engaged last summer and quickly shared the news with fans via social media. Two months later Lovato called off the engagement, and things turned ugly when Ehrich accused her of using him “for clout.” As EW notes in its article, the track “15 Minutes” on Lovato’s new album addresses that remark with the lyrics, “Good riddance—you got your 15 minutes.”

Lovato then explains in the interview how wearing that impressive engagement ring made the situation feel even more real. "The second it was off, I was like, 'You know what? I'm good. I don't need that.' I just don't need an object on my finger to make me feel like I've got my s--- together,” she continued. “It looks like stability, but it doesn't mean that it is. And I don't actually grow through stability. I find that I like living not in chaos or crisis, but in fluidity."

The performer also reveals that becoming engaged led her to better understand her own sexuality. In the past, she was reluctant to speak about her queerness, in part because of her upbringing. "I never said anything," Lovato adds. "Gender norms and sexuality norms aside, I kind of felt a prisoner to my entire career and childhood growing up in the South as a Christian." With Ehrich though, she realized she is currently "just too queer" to tie the knot with a guy.

"Regardless if drama is happening or not, I am too gay to marry a man right now," she adds. "I don't know if that will change in 10 years and I don't know if that'll never change, but I love accepting myself. I've always known I was hella queer, but I have fully embraced it."

Dancing With the Devil dropped on YouTube with its first two of four episodes on March 23. The remaining two installments are scheduled to hit the internet on March 30 and April 6. The docuseries explores the events leading up to Lovato’s nearly fatal overdose in 2018, and has been touted as a raw and powerful journey that sheds new light on the famed singer’s life.

“Over the past couple years I've heard a lot of stories about my life, and what people think has happened,” Lovato recently explained during a panel at the virtual Television Critics Association Press Tour. “I wanted to set the record straight and I wanted to reveal it all for my fans and say, ‘Hey, this is who I am and this is where I'm at today and this is the journey that got me here.’ And if it helps you, then I hope that it can, because that was ultimately my purpose in putting this out. To be able to help people that have been on the same path as I have.”

Here’s wishing Lovato all the best on her continued recovery. 

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