Back in mid October, Demi Lovato released a full length documentary on YouTube called Simply Complicated, and it is a must watch. When we see celebrities, we think that their lives are perfect and forget that they are human, too. Being famous doesn’t mean that all of your problems will go away. In fact, it can actually cause more problems than it solves, and Demi Lovato is a perfect example of that.
Her documentary opens with her saying, “I actually had anxiety around this interview, because the last time I did an interview this long, I was on cocaine. It was called Staying Strong.” Those words rang through my head for days. Demi Lovato, the sweet Disney girl we all knew growing up, had a life that none of us could have ever imagined.
She continues to talk about her life and how she got started with music, her struggles along the way and how she conquered them. Diving head first into her personal life, she talks about her issues with alcohol and drugs at a very young age, how she was depressed most of her life, and how she struggled to deal with her undiagnosed bi-polar disorder. The emotional roller coaster in this documentary is eye-opening and expresses the pain that she went through every day during her youth.
The pressure, the eating disorder, the mental illness, the bullying: all of these topics are covered in depth in the documentary, including how she is currently dealing with them. At the beginning of the flick, you witness a young woman feeling defeated by her past and ashamed of who she was. By the end, the energy shifts and there is a feeling that all hope is not lost; there is a way to stand up and take control of your life, and Lovato is living proof of that.
While discussing the fights with her inner demons, she also talks about the heart-wrenching breakup between her and her boyfriend of six years, Wilmer Valderrama. During this segment of the documentary, it’s hard not to feel sad for her as she discusses how she will always love him and the connection they shared, but Lovato knew what was best for her at the time. She states, “There are issues that I haven’t conquered yet, that I know I won’t conquer if I’m relying on somebody else to take care of the loneliness.”
This is a quote everybody should listen to and really think about. She knows that even though their love was strong, she had to work on herself before she could love somebody else. It’s the sad reality of having what seems to be a never ending fight with oneself, but it’s an important notion to remember: relying on somebody else for your happiness will only cause more pain in the end.
All of the struggles that Demi has gone through have made her the incredibly powerful and inspirational person she is today. She is currently working on bettering herself by going to the gym and accepting who she is as a person. She opens up about her sexuality and although she will never explicitly “come out” as a certain sexuality, she describes her want for genuine human connection and interest in men and women. She continues to fight every day in hopes to inspire young people that it’s okay to not be okay and to teach them self-love.
Simply Complicated should be on everybody’s watch list. It’s not easy being in the limelight all the time, but she has begun to accept her past and move forward. She has currently been sober for about five and half years (of both alcohol and drugs) although she still struggles with her eating disorder. Demi Lovato is here to tell her story, to inspire, to heal and to educate. Simply Complicated is an outstanding documentary that holds important lessons for all of us.