Demi Lovato: Her Tragic Schizo Family Past

Demi Lovato dramatically outed herself as mentally ill at the 2016 Democratic National Convention — but The National ENQUIRER already had the scoop on the Disney's diva's battles against addiction and being bipolar! Demi, who's also battled eating disorders, used the Democratic convention to call for improved health coverage: “Like millions of Americans, I am living with mental illness, but I am lucky. I had the resources and support to get treatment at a top facility." But the star remained estranged from her equally-troubled father, who died alone at the age of 53!

Like his famous daughter, Patrick Lovota was bipolar and had booze and drug problems. He had also been diagnosed as schizophrenic. Patick was suffering from throat cancer and facing surgery when he spoke to Radar Online in a desperate attempt to reach out to his daughter, saying: "I love her so much, and I just want her to call me. This is the only way I can talk to her — I try to reach her, but it never works." Patrick would be later pass away in June 2013.

"The last time I talked to him was two years ago," Demi said at the time. "You try to have faith in somebody, even when you're the last person that believes in him. But when somebody lets you down after you've been the only one there for them, and so many times, you don't know what else to do." Demi added: "I had to cut off all connection. It was hurting me too much."

Demi had previously sung about her father in the 2011 song "For the Love of a Daughter," saying: "It's a very personal song. 'Oh father, please father, put the bottle down...' The lyrics are self-explanatory about my relationship with my estranged father whom I haven't spoken to in five years. I wrote it when I was 16, and getting it out is like therapy."

The pop diva has also spoken out before about her fear of relapsing into old addictions — including self-mutilation! "If I feel myself slipping back into old patterns, I have to ask others for help," she admitted, saying in 2012: "I cannot tell you that I have not thrown up since treatment. I cannot tell you that I have not cut myself since treatment. I'm not perfect."

In addition to her father's illnesses, Demi also grew up with a mother who suffered from eating disorders and depression. The starlet said her own addictions began after being prescribed pain pills after being in a car crash as a tween. "I liked the feeling they gave me. They sort of numbed out everything. I also liked the sneakiness of taking extra pills out of my mom's handbag without her knowing."

Demi's appearance at the DNC is yet another time when she's used her fame as a motivation to stay sober and on her meds. "When you are no longer hiding anything, you don't worry about what is going to get out," she explained. "Now that I'm an open book, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!"