Demi Lovato Leaves Hospital Almost 2 Weeks After Overdose

Pop star was found unconscious at her Los Angeles home on Tuesday, July 24

By Corinne Heller Aug 06, 2018 3:20 PMTags

Demi Lovato has been released from a Los Angeles hospital almost two weeks after her apparent overdose.

E! News has learned that Lovato was discharged from hospital on Saturday and flew to a rehab facility where she will stay for an extended period of time.

A source previously told E! News that the 25-year-old pop star will "head straight to rehab" upon her release from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where her family members and ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama have been by her side amid her recovery. Lovato has not commented.

She was found unconscious at her Los Angeles home on Tuesday, July 24. Paramedics administered Narcan, used to reverse opioid overdoses, and transported her to a hospital. Her publicist said later in the day that Lovato was awake and with her family. The substance or substances that caused the apparent overdose have not been disclosed.

As the one-week mark of Lovato's hospital stay loomed, E! News learned she was suffering from extreme nausea and high fever. Her family and manager were focused on getting her better and taking things day by day, a source revealed at the time. 

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Demi Lovato's Quotes on Sobriety and Mental Health

On Sunday, Lovato broke her silence with a message to her fans on Instagram.

"I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction," she wrote. "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 concluded her message by writing, "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 on the other side. I will keep fighting." 

Brian Friedman/NBC

Lovato has spent time in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction in the past. Her latest incident comes a month after she released her song "Sober," in which she sings about relapsing. 

In the days after her overdose, sources told E! News that Lovato and her friends were partying hard for the past several months and that the singer and her group partied for 12 straight hours, including at a Los Angeles bar, before she overdosed.

"This is obviously a huge wake-up call. Demi doesn't want to die and she's very grateful to be alive," one of the sources said. "Her family has been by her side supporting her and is getting her the help she needs."

Explained another insider, "She had a sober coach who she cut out of her life a few months ago. She's been in a downward spiral ever since and has not been doing well. She's been heavily using and her friends have been very worried that this was going to happen."

Valderrama visited Lovato in the hospital at least twice after her apparent overdose. The two famously dated for almost six years up until 2016. A year prior, while celebrating three years of sobriety, the singer paid tribute to him on Instagram, writing, "I really wouldn't be alive today without him. I love you Wilmer."