Demi Lovato has been very open about her experiences with bullying during middle school and high school, which might leave fans wondering if she ever pursued higher education.
Demi Lovato did not go to college. Due to the bullying Lovato faced in her formative years, she moved to homeschooling. Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, taught Demi Lovato until she graduated in 2009. With such a traumatic past, it’s possible that Demi Lovato had little desire to attend college.
Read more below about Demi Lovato’s experience with bullying and why it might have affected her decision to not attend college.
Lovato’s Childhood Bullying
Bullying is intentionally aggressive and harmful behavior, often used to intimidate others. School bullying is a widespread problem for adolescents of all ages, so much so that the federal government recognizes it as a risk.
Demi Lovato experienced intense bullying firsthand and it impacted the course of her education.
While being raised in Dallas, Texas, she began taking piano and guitar lessons, and by the age of 10, she had begun working as an actor on megahit children’s show Barney & Friends.
Demi Lovato’s acting career is what originally led to her bullying. During an interview with Hello magazine, Demi shared that she was verbally bullied online, by phone and at school.
As Lovato’s fame grew, she shared that the bullying intensified, with classmates hosting parties to trash her demo tracks and showing up at her house to hurl insults. They also began criticizing Lovato’s weight and appearance, which ultimately caused her to have an eating disorder.
Demi Lovato’s eating disorder grew so severe that she ultimately required professional help in order to recover. In the past few years, she shared the shocking difference in her appearance now that she has started to recover from bulimia.
You can watch Demi Lovato discuss her bullying in a YouTube video below.
Homeschooling a Superstar
At the height of her bullying, Demi Lovato called her mom and told her she did not want to go to school anymore. Her mother agreed to homeschool both Demi and her friend, Selena Gomez.
Though still scarred from her past, Demi persevered in the homeschool setting and graduated from high school, all while continuing to act and make music, with her first studio album Don’t Forget released in 2008.
Too Famous for College
As her fame continued to rise, Demi Lovato went on to work for the Disney Channel, tour with The Jonas Brothers and released five subsequent albums. However, she was still battling the scars of her bullying, mental illness and her eating disorder.
After a series of alarming incidents, which culminated in Demi Lovato punching one of her tour’s backup dancers, management stepped in to get Lovato’s behavior under control.
See Lovato discuss punching a backup dancer in the YouTube video below.
A little over a year after graduating high school. Lovato sought treatment for the first time to combat the emotional turmoil she had faced over the course of her life.
This would be the first of many rehab stints for Lovato, and unfortunately, she suffered an overdose after being sober for several years. After being released from the hospital, Lovato released a statement, thanking fans for their continued support and telling them, “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 on the other side. I will keep fighting.”
Would Demi Lovato Attend College Now That She’s Older?
Given her fame and lifestyle, college was unlikely ever a consideration for the troubled star. She already had a career she’d worked hard for from a young age and was catapulted into superstardom during the years she would have been in college, had she attended.
When her sister, Madison De La Garza, graduated high school, Demi cheered her on from the audience.
It’s impossible to say whether or not Demi Lovato would ever consider attending college now that she’s somewhat more stable in her life, but it’s clear she is not opposed to school in general.