Demi Lovato Talks Self-Acceptance: "I'm Not Going to Sacrifice My Mental Health to Have the Perfect Body"

Singer stuns on the cover of Teen Vogue magazine

By Alyssa Toomey Oct 03, 2013 10:21 PMTags
Demi Lovato, Teen VogueTwitter

Demi Lovato may be happier than ever these days, but the 21-year-old star hasn't always been at peace with herself.

The brunette beauty stuns on the November cover of Teen Vogue, which she enthustically shared with her loyal Lovatics today via Twitter today, and inside the mag, she opens up about finding true happiness, overcoming body-image battles and what she looks for in a future man.

"I don't have the body of a model or Barbie," the "Heart Attack" singer, who has previously revealed her struggle with bulimia, said. "My main thing about being in the spotlight with my fans is, I want to be real to them. I have my problem areas, but I'm happy in my skin right now. I'm not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body."

Smart girl. And it's Demi's inner-strength that has kept the star from conforming to the cookie-cutter Hollywood image.

"You've gotta be honest with people around you. And honest with yourself," she explained. "When you're having a rough day, be like, 'I don't want to talk about this, but I need to get it off my chest.' If you have a secret—secrets make you sick."

Lovato clearly has wisdom beyond her years thanks in part to her 2010 stint in rehab, where she sought treatment "for emotional and physical issues," but she insists the hike to happiness wasn't a steady climb.

"It may seem boring to other people, but my whole life I've lived at a really intense level—whether it's fame or this or that," she said. "I've always worked really hard. Now I've gotten to the place where I'm healthy, happy. And my family is happy and healthy. When I do have free time, I love just sitting here and inviting people over and watching movies, or going to the movies. It's a big night for me if I go bowling."

Between her judging gig on the X Factor, her successful singer career and her upcoming appearance on Glee, it should come as no surprise that Demi doesn't have much time for dating, but the performer still has an ideal man in mind.

"Someone who loves me and appreciates me for who I am," she said when asked what she's looking for in a future beau. "Who I can hang out with in sweatpants and no makeup, because that's what I do when I have my time off."