Demi Lovato Says Split From Max Ehrich Helped Them To Say 'Goodbye To Everything That Was Holding Me Back From Being My Most Authentic Self'
When it comes to their past engagement to Max Ehrich, Demi Lovato is not looking back.
Earlier this week, the 29-year-old spoke to Kate Sosin of The 19th Represents Summit and admitted that the split might have been the "best thing" that ever happened to them.
The former flames reportedly met in March 2020 and decided to quarantine together throughout the coronavirus pandemic. In July 2020, the actor had popped the question before they called it all off in September of that year.
Since then the "Tell Me You Love Me" singer has come out as non-binary, but the revelation about their gender identity was a long time coming. They said that at the start of the lockdown in March 2020 they were "starting to identify as non-binary."
"Then I met someone and I got into this straight relationship, and that was great, but that led me to ignoring all the parts of myself that I didn't think were digestible for my partner at the time, who ended up becoming my fiancé," they explained.
Lovato thinks the split was a good thing because "of what that led inside of myself." Since the exes parted ways, the Camp Rock alum has been able to "stand on my own two feet" without "needing someone else to validate me or to make me feel accepted."
"When I said goodbye to that relationship, I also said goodbye to everything that was holding me back from being my most authentic self," they explained.
It was then that Lovato "really started to identify" as non-binary in their personal life before coming out publicly in May. "It was the dissolvement of all things that had held me back from identifying as the person I do today," they said.
Their journey when it comes to their gender identity could go on "forever," Lovato noted.
"There might be a time where I identify as trans," the Sonny With A Chance star said. "I don't know what this looks like for me. There might be a time where I identify as non-binary and gender nonconforming my entire life. Or maybe there's a period of time when I get older that I identify as a woman."
Lovato doesn't know what's in store for them but "in this moment right now, this is how I identify."
"And I have a feeling that it's not going to ever go back to one way or the other... It's about keeping it open and free, and I'm a very fluid person," they added.
Earlier this year, Lovato admitted that they had themselves fooled when it came to the engagement. "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," they told Entertainment Weekly.
Meanwhile, when the "Anyone" singer joked about the engagement at the 2020 People's Choice Award's, Ehrich let his ex-fiancée know he wasn't happy. The hunk accused Lovato of "exploiting our breakup for clout" and said the joke was "not chill" in an Instagram comment.
