Demi Lovato makes first public statement since apparent overdose: 'I will keep fighting'

Nearly two weeks after her apparent drug overdose, Demi Lovato is speaking out for the first time.

On Sunday, the 25-year-old, who was hospitalized July 24 after a night of partying that nearly cost the singer her life, took to Instagram to share a letter to fans, friends, and family.

“I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time, It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet,” she wrote. “I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well. To my fans, I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond. Your positive thoughts and prayers have helped me navigate through this difficult time.”

She continued, “I want to thank my family, my team, and the staff at Cedars-Sinai who have been by my side this entire time. Without them, I wouldn’t here writing this letter to all of you. I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery. The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out the other side.”

She finished by signing off with “I will keep fighting.”

According to TMZ, Lovato will be entering rehab, though no details were provided when she was released from the hospital (Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to Lovato’s reps for comment).

It remains unclear as to what caused Lovato to overdose, and a source close to her maintains it was not heroin-related, despite earlier reports. She apparently refused to name the drug when questioned by police and is not under a criminal investigation. The “Skyscraper” singer had a longer-than-usual stay in the hospital due to “complications.”

In the past, Lovato has admitted to abusing alcohol, cocaine, and OxyContin. (OxyContin, an opioid, can cause overdoses that can be treated with Narcan, which was used on Lovato before she was taken to the emergency room.)

Lovato entered rehab for the first time in 2010, where she was also diagnosed as bipolar and received therapy for an eating disorder and self-harming. She relapsed shortly after seeking treatment.

“I wasn’t working my program, I wasn’t ready to get sober. I was sneaking [cocaine] on planes, I was sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night,” Lovato revealed in her 2017 documentary Simply Complicated. “I went on a bender of, like, two months where I was using daily. … There was one night when I used a bunch of coke and I popped a few Xanax bars, and I began to choke a little bit. My heart started racing, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I might be overdosing right now.’”

The singer returned to rehab in 2012 and was reportedly sober for six years before relapsing. Lovato admitted that she fell off the wagon in her new song “Sober,” but the severity of her issues were remained unknown.