Overdose Shock Demi's Devastating Downward Spiral

She’s crying out for help

After surviving years of depression, self-harm, drug abuse and alcoholism, it was breaking up with the love of her life that tipped Demi Lovato over the edge.

The 25-year-old US X-Factor judge, who was brought back from the brink last week after a near-fatal drug overdose at her Los Angeles mansion, has announced she’s “grateful to be alive” and is recovering with the help of her family.

But a source close to the singer tells Woman’s Day there’s a long road ahead for Demi, whose searingly honest lyrics about her many personal battles have inspired fans around the world to stay strong in facing their own demons.

The hitmaker has been in an on-off relationship with That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama since she was 18, once describing him as “my rock, my everything”.

After two years apart, the duo reunited earlier this year but, tells our source, it didn’t work out. “She was plastering a smile on in public, but behind closed doors Demi was crumbling,” says our source. “She was drinking day and night, and taking a cocktail of drugs in a desperate bid to numb the pain.

“Demi is incredibly fragile and the slightest thing can throw her off keel, so to have suffered this heartbreak again was catastrophic for her mental health. It was only a matter of time before she ended up in hospital.”