The 'Sorry Not Sorry' singer, 31, said she felt she'd gone for older men in the past because of her 'daddy issues'
Demo Lovato says her "phase of dating older men" was "gross."
"I think what I went through is I had a phase of dating older men and dating older guys because of my daddy issues, obviously. And now I’m at a place where I’m in an amazing relationship," the 31-year-old told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM talk show Monday.
"I can say with confidence that my daddy issues aren’t anything that are inside of me anymore, and I think there’s a few signs to that. I’m with a partner that is my age, essentially. I look back on the past and think, ‘That’s gross.'"
The "Give Your Heart a Break" singer is dating musician Jordan Lutes, 32, who goes by "Jutes."
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Demi Lovato called her past of dating older men "gross" this week. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Lovato did not mention any exes by name during the interview. However, the star met former boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama, 43, when she was just 17 and he was 29. They confirmed their relationship after she turned 18 despite their nearly 13-year age gap. The couple dated six years.
"For me, I was a teenager," she told Stern, according to Entertainment Weekly. "And so, to me, that's gross. If you are 50 and 60, you're fine. Even 30 and 40, that's not gross at all. But I think that when you're in those development years, you should absolutely not be with somebody that is older than you by that much. It's just unhealthy and toxic."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Lovato and Valderrama's reps for comment.
Demi Lovato met Wilmer Valderrama when she was just 17 and he was 29. They began dating soon after. (Hubert Boesl/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Of Jutes, she gushed, "There’s just this partnership there that is so magnetic, and the way that we laugh together it’s just nonstop."
She said she felt a "formula of like a really great relationship" is finding someone who makes you "feel safe," that "you’re so attracted to" and "you laugh with constantly."
She said she and Jutes have been "taking it slow," dating for about a year and a half. And they have talked about marriage, and she wants to have children with him.
Lovato is in a relationship with Jordan "Jutes" Lutes, who is a year older than her. (Roger Kisby/WWD via Getty Images)
Lovato said she met Jutes when he entered the studio to help her on her 2022 album, "Holy Fvck."
"He came in to write on one of my sessions, and I was in the studio and was immediately attracted to him," she revealed to Stern. "I like texted my friends on the side and was like, 'He’s so hot!'"
Her "Holy Fvck" album included a track, "29," Valderrama’s age when they met, and fans speculated it was about her regrets over their relationship.
"Finally 29. Funny, just like you were at the time," the song says. "Thought it was a teenage dream, just a fantasy. But was it yours or was it mine? 17, 29."
