Demi Lovato is not your typical pop star. She makes fun of the stereotypical Snapchat selfie duck face and prefers not to be Photoshopped. Better yet, she has become an icon for self-love and pure confidence. That's exactly what she embodies, too. The Grammy nominee has had to live her life's ups and downs in front of the world, and she is not one to shy away from honesty.
She has been open with her fans about her struggles and has faced her issues head-on, while everyone watches. That's not easy. Being in the public eye and showing that you are a human being who makes mistakes can be challenging and it opens you to plenty of criticism from everyone. But that doesn't stop Demi from living authentically and transparently.
More from MamásLatinas: Demi Lovato's fiercest bikini pics
The former Disney Channel star has had her fair share of problems in her personal life, starting from when she was a child. She's dealt with eating disorders, drug addictions, and self-harming. That's why every time Demi makes a public display of self-love, it is something worth celebrating and something that can inspire us all to love ourselves a little better.
From being honest about her relapses to her struggles with her body image to taking a stand against photo editing, Demi shows us that it is more than OK to be human. Life is not perfect and healing is not linear and Demi makes us all see that it's totally acceptable to love ourselves exactly where we are in life—even when things are a little messy. We're counting down the times the pop star has inspired us to love ourselves, our bodies, and our curves.
Let's talk about her relatability for a second.
Check out the bed she's sitting on and how it is covered in clothing. "This is what my bed looks like every time I get dressed ♀️ ♀️ Anyone else??" she wrote in the caption. Uh, we're definitely raising our hands over here because sometimes it looks like a tornado went through our closets when we're getting dressed.
She encourages us to embrace our weirdness.
Here Demi is showing off her new pair of glasses and as you can see she’s got some aliens on her nails. Why? “I got new glasses and no I don’t have a single called aliens coming out, I just have alien nails cause I’m just weird like that ♀️." Go on with your wonderful weirdness, Demi! We love it so much.
Demi fights against the pressure to appear perfect online.
Demi shared an unedited photo of herself in a bikini in 2019 and she made us feel so understood. "I’m just literally sooooo tired of being ashamed of my body, editing it (yes the other bikini pics were edited — and I hate that I did that but it’s the truth) so that others think I’m THEIR idea of what beautiful is, but it’s just not me," she captioned this fire snap. "This is what I got. I want this new chapter in my life to be about being authentic to who I am rather than trying to meet someone else’s standards."
Demi wore a teeny tiny bikini with so much confidence.
Demi showed off her curves in a mirror selfie and looked incredible. She is no longer giving into the pressure of having to look a certain way and is embracing herself as she is. "No photoshop pls & thank u," she captioned this pic. And we say thank you right back!
She made bare-faced selfies a common thing on her page.
The talented singer and actor loves taking fresh-faced selfies, which most celebs shy away from. She looks incredible and once even started a No Makeup Monday trend on her Instagram. We love seeing her bare face especially since her freckles are absolutely adorable and deserve to be celebrated.
Demi is proud of her strength.
She shared this super steamy bikini pic with a powerful message. "Idk what to caption this.. reality is I’m sitting at the gym post jiu jitsu feeling high on life and drinking my post workout shake. I’m sweaty and not looking this glamorous right now but f–k I feel awesome and posting this feels empowering because I like this pic where I feel sexy and I can also defend myself from anyone that ever tries to attack me," she captioned it. "Any size, any shape, any gender. I have security but in the moments I’m alone I feel confident (no pun intended) that I can hold my own against an attacker and hope everyone finds something they become as passionate about as I feel about jiu jitsu."
She did a full photo shoot with no Photoshop or filter.
For the October 2015 Vanity Fair issue, she decided to strip and wasn't Photoshopped even a little bit and her body was on full display. Go her! Don't forget that most images you see of celebrities in magazines have been altered. It is incredibly refreshing to have Demi go against that norm.
She knows that it's important to feel comfortable in her own skin.
Here's another image from her Vanity Fair shoot. Her caption was, "Sometimes you just have to say f–k the photoshop." OK and YES! It's not like most of us are ever going to pose nude in a magazine, but sadly many of us compare ourselves to what we see in magazines even though we shouldn't compare ourselves to others and there's no way we can have realistic body ideals if all we ever see are unrealistic bodies.
She showed us that she can pinch an inch.
During a Snapchat, Lovato grabbed her belly and wrote in part, "My body isn't perfect. I'm not my fittest, but this is me." Preach! Let's be honest, Demi's belly is pretty phenomenal. Even so, she shares that she can still pinch an inch of flesh and that's a good thing because it reminds us that there's nothing wrong with having a little sumthin' sumthin to pinch.
She showed us that it is possible to survive body image issues.
She previously confessed that her body image issues started at age 3. "When I started having body image issues I remember being 3 years old in a diaper and rubbing my hand over my stomach…and I remember thinking in my head ‘I wonder if one day this will ever be flat?’” she said in an interview with Katie Couric. It's heartbreaking to think that such a young child would even care about the flatness of her belly.
She is curve-tastic and proud.
The pop star is serious about showing the real her. "Behind the scenes (and bathroom door) of my Allure cover shoot.. Posting a #nophotoshop pic because I'm proud to show my body the way it naturally is.. (And there was great lighting…)," she wrote as the caption. Shout out to Demi and the great lighting. Oh, and that bathing suit is lovely.
She speaks to others about confidence.
She's confident and welcomes others to get in the zone. "I think it's a combination of self-respect, self-love, and complete security in who you are as a person," she said on her YouTube channel. She has a very large following and it is wonderful that she uses her platform to promote self-confidence.
Demi reminds herself to focus on herself.
She has a tiny "me" tattooed on her ring finger. That particular finger is usually reserved to symbolize your union to another person, but now Demi is using it to show that she comes first. "Me first thank you @winterstone for my new forever reminder.. #i me," she explained the tattoo. We all need to remind ourselves to be kind to ourselves.
She focuses on being fit to keep herself healthy inside and out.
The singer encourages women to love their curves and to stay healthy by working out. Working out shouldn't be about torturing your body to make it look a certain way, it should be about celebrating all that it can do and developing its strength like Demi does. She also uses her workouts as an outlet to keep her mental state at peace.
She's not afraid to show off her curves.
She loves to show off her curves in chic and sexy outfits–without showing too much skin. She makes classy look like a new and refreshing trend. This particular outfit looks like something that we could actually wear and we just might. Watch out Demi, we might be borrowing this look especially since it’s in no danger of going out of style.
Her lyrics are powerful and keep us going forward.
Demi's single "Confident" is an anthem for all women to be bosses. "It's time for me to take it/I'm the boss right now/Not gonna fake it," she sings. It's a great reminder to all of us that we need to own our power because make no mistake about it, we are powerful.
She is not afraid to show the world when she makes mistakes.
Demi knows that life can get hectic and sometimes we take a step backwards when we're trying to make progress. She was honest with her fans and accepted that she made a mistake in her 2018 song "Sober" where she revealed that she had relapsed after being sober for more than five years. It's not about how we fall, it's about how we get back up.
Demi taught us how to empower ourselves with "Sorry Not Sorry."
She gives us anthems that inspire us to push forward and bring out the fierce woman that lives within all of us. Her song "Sorry Not Sorry" seems like it is aimed at an ex, but it can also be used as inspiration to silence any naysayers. Or to silence that naysaying voice in ourselves.
Demi's documentary showed us a vulnerable side of Demi.
Demi looked back on her darker times but also kept it real about what it is like to get out of a long relationship and how difficult it can be to move forward. If you've ever been in a long relationship that ended, then you know what she's talking about and her words, reflections, and insights are much appreciated.
She uses her workouts to let go of any bad energy.
Demi has focused on her jiu jitsu skills to get through dark times and it has helped her stay in shape while also making her mentally stronger. We all need productive and positive outlets to get any negative energy out of our systems. Exercise can be a powerful form of meditation because it keeps you focused in the moment and helps you sweat out all the bad juju.
Demi is proof that resilience in life is important.
No matter how many times we lose our way, there is always a chance for us to find our way back and start moving in the right direction. Even after her overdose in 2018, Demi has worked to get her life back in order. She has not wasted the opportunity to do better and be better despite an incredibly scary setback.
She reminds us that we all need support.
The caption she dropped with this photo says it all, so we'll just drop it right here: "ThreeCourseMeal… just me and my best friends living our best lives.. Thank you for never leaving me in my darkest moments, for always drying my tears.. even when they’re from watching Moana.. thank you for being loyal, honest and so grateful for every little thing.. like crying because we swam with fish/sharks/stingray and coral reef. I’m so lucky to be best friends with two incredible souls who are so talented and creative because it inspires me daily. And you’re so supportive of me and every little thing I do.. You’ve traveled across the country to visit me and stayed with me at my house for days on end when I’m struggling to make sure I’m okay but most importantly you never abandoned me like others did when I was going through shit.. you were there to listen, without judgement and only love and I can never fully express what that means to me. You’re the greatest friends I’ve EVER had and our future together is so bright. I love you both more than you can imagine!! Thank you for this past week @sirahsays @matthew_scott_montgomery ps. I’m both yalls biggest fans "
The former child star is proof that we should all be living our purpose.
Demi is such a powerful singer and has an incredible voice. No matter what happens in her personal life, she always turns to her music and keeps continuing to live in her purpose. She takes her experiences and her talents and uses them to create music that can speak to so many.
