Demi Lovato Reveals She Felt ‘Conflicted’ After Her ‘Abusive’ Father Died

Demi Lovato admitted in an interview that she had a complicated relationship with her “abusive” father.

In a video interview posted on Lovato’s YouTube channel, the 23-year-old singer talked about her deceased father, Patrick Lovato, Entertainment Tonight reported. Lovato’s father passed away in 2013 after battling cancer. The former Disney star described her father as “abusive” and shared that she felt “very conflicted” when her dad died.

"He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person,” she explained. “And he wanted to have his family, and when my mom married my stepdad, he still had this huge heart where he said, ‘I’m so glad that [he's] taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.'"

Lovato went on to reveal that her emotional ballad “Father,” included in her new album “Confident,” was all about her deceased dad. The “Cool for the Summer” crooner stated that Patrick’s mental illness prevented him from raising a family. Lovato added, "To know that it wasn't fully his fault really was saddening to me. I wanted to write about it. I wanted to process it."

The ballad contains emotional lines such as “"You did your best or did you?” and “Sometimes I think I hate you… I 'm sorry, dad, for feeling this." In her song, Lovato also wished that her father would be given a second chance to live a much a happier life. She wrote, "I know you were a troubled man… I know you never got the chance… To be yourself, to be your best… I hope that heaven's given you… A second chance."

Lovato’s boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama, recently took to Instagram to share a sleeping picture of the singer, according to People. On Tuesday, Valderrama uploaded a picture of himself with Lovato sleeping soundly beside him. He captioned the image, "It must be EXHAUSTING to be that #Confident.. This lil angel created an inspirational & emotional journey.. Then she sprinkled bad ass dust on it!"

“Confident” is Lovato’s fifth studio album, which was released on Oct. 16, under Island Records and Hollywood Records.